Caroline Brown, global brand president of The North Face, will leave the company and will be replaced by Chris Goble. This was announced by VF Corp. CEO Bracken Darrell during a “fireside chat”, an informal conversation with company executives often in the form of a Q&A, held on March 10 at the Citi 2026 Global Consumer & Retail Conference. The news was first reported by SES Outdoor and later confirmed by Sporting Goods Intelligence.
Chris Globe
Changes at the Top
Caroline Brown joined The North Face in 2024 after already being part of the VF Corp board. Darrell explained that her entry was decided to stabilize the brand in a phase marked by internal criticalities and low morale among employees. According to SES Outdoor, the manager acknowledged her contribution to the brand’s revival, emphasizing that the handover had been planned for some time. During her tenure, The North Face returned to growth in terms of revenue, recording an increase of about 8% in the last quarter.
The successor, Chris Goble, joined VF Corp. in 2024 coming from Gap Inc., with responsibility for the Dickies brand, which was sold in 2025 to Bluestar Alliance for 600 million dollars. Currently, Goble leads the group’s emerging brands segment, which includes Altra, Smartwool, and other smaller labels.
Darrell highlighted how Goble’s experience in commercial and merchandising is a key element for the brand’s next development phase. He also described The North Face as “a strong and healthy brand”, reaffirming the company’s commitment to simplifying the business and strengthening product execution.
