Levi appoints James Curleigh as EVP and President

In order to improve the company’s performance, Levi Strauss & Co appointed James Curleigh as the Executive Vice President and President of Levi Strauss. He will take over the responsibilities July 5 onwards.

Before Levis, James Curleigh, 46, having an experience of 20 years in building and expanding consumer brands across the globe, served as the president and chief executive officer of Keen Footwear, a footwear and accessory company. Keen Footwear doubled its revenue growth and spread its distribution to more than 60 countries under his leadership. Earlier, Curleigh also worked as the president and chief executive officer of Salomon Sports North America, an innovative performance sports company. Curleigh also established and led TaylorMade adidas golf division in Europe and held various leadership positions in the London offices of M&M Mars, a global consumer goods leader.

To support the company’s business operations, Levi Strauss also appointed two additional executives in the form of Joelle Maher and Varun Bhatia. Maher, who joined Levi Strauss in 2007 as Vice President and general manager of US retail, was promoted to senior vice president Americas Retail in 2009. Citing the strong track record of driving results, the company has now promoted her as the executive vice president and president Global Retail. Before joining Levi Strauss, Maher played her leadership role in companies like Lucky Brand Jeans, Old Navy, Macy’s, and Lord & Taylor.

On the other hand, Varun Bhatia who has been appointed as the chief human resources officer for Levi Strauss, worked for Kraft Foods as Vice President of Human Resources for Asia Pacific. And, prior to Kraft Foods, he served as HR head for Global Gillette Business unit at Procter & Gamble.

Levi Strauss & Co. designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the brands Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, and Denizen.