New global brand president to join TNF in June
Outdoor brand The North Face has appointed Nicole Otto as its new global brand president; she will take up the role in June.
Ms Otto will join The North Face from Nike, where she worked for 16 years before leaving in May. For the last three years of her career at Nike, Nicole Otto was its vice-president for direct-to-consumer business. Before this, she held a number of regional and global leadership roles within the company’s digital business.
Commenting on the appointment, chief executive of parent group VF Corporation, Steve Rendle, said: “Nicole is the right leader who brings the right capabilities to The North Face brand at the right time. Her global industry experience and deep understanding of consumer engagement strategies – through physical retail and digital commerce – make her ideally suited to take the helm of this iconic brand and accelerate growth through even more compelling direct connections with consumers worldwide.”
She will succeed Steve Murray, who is retiring. Mr Murray only became global brand president of The North Face in September 2020, having previously been executive vice-president and group president for VF’s Americas region and, earlier, as president of the group’s action sports coalition and global brand president of Vans.
Steve Rendle explained that the group had appointed Mr Murray to the role “knowing that his retirement was on the horizon”, but keen to “leverage his incredible 30-plus years of industry experience”.
