Timberland global brand president Susie Mulder is exiting the company, FN has learned.
Mulder, who assumed the role in April 2021, revealed her departure internally this week. Nina Flood, the VP and GM of Timberland EMEA, will step in to take the helm of the brand on an interim basis, the company confirmed.
“After two and a half years, Susie has announced she will be leaving VF to pursue a new opportunity. Susie made many contributions during her time with the brand, and leaves a strong foundation, strategy and leadership team to move the brand and business forward,” Colin Wheeler, VP of corporate affairs and communications at VF Corp., said in an emailed statement.
Wheeler added that Flood is the right person to take the interim role. “Nina has been a successful leader at VF for 20 years, within various leadership roles including president of Global Packs (Eastpak, JanSport and Kipling) before taking the helm at Timberland EMEA earlier this year,” Wheeler said.
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Prior to Mulder joining Timberland in April 2021, the company’s global brand president role had been vacant since January 2020, when Jim Pisani stepped down.
Mulder was the CEO at Nic + Zoe for almost a decade prior to Timberland, and before that, she was a partner at global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
The executive’s departure comes at a time of struggle for parent VF Corp., which is facing pressure from two activist investors. Amid a weak fiscal Q2 earnings report and forecast, Timberland sales fell 7 percent during the period (10 percent on a constant currency basis). WWD reported that investors could be interested in snapping up Timberland as VF spins off some labels.
Mulder’s exit is the latest of several leadership departures for the challenged company. For instance, longtime VF veteran Steve Rendle surprisingly announced his decision to retire from his position as chairman, president and CEO in December 2022. (Bracken Darrell was announced as president and CEO in June.)
As for other VF brands, the company announced last month that Vans global brand president Kevin Bailey — who joined in 2002 and returned to the helm last year after holding other roles at the parent company — was stepping down.
Under Bracken, the company last month launched a transformation plan called “Reinvent.” It focuses on strengthening the North American business, overhauling Vans and cutting costs.
