Denny Bruce – File photo courtesy of Dickies
Dickies is under new leadership after former Global Brand President Denny Bruce, who was well-regarded within VF Corp., decided to leave his position to focus on his family.
VF CEO Steve Rendle announced the change during the company’s recent Investor Day presentation.
Lance Meller, the former VP and GM of Dickies Americas, will replace Denny as Dickies’ Global Brand President.
“Lance was the co-author of the current strategy that really accelerated and put this business into a new sphere of momentum,” Rendle said. “The leader you may remember, Denny Bruce, made a very important decision to put his career on hold to focus on his family. We miss him, but it’s something we deeply support.”
“I just want to acknowledge the work he’s done, the partnership that Lance has provided and most importantly, the succession planning that has taken place in this business so that when this decision came forward, Lance was able to pick up that baton and move forward seamlessly, and he will continue to drive his team and the energy behind the brand,” Rendle said.
Lance Meller – Photo courtesy of VF Corp.
Denny’s family is based in Utah and Dickies is headquartered in Texas. Denny’s commute was too hard on the family, and relocating was not an option, Denny told SES.
“Steve and the entire VF team were incredibly thoughtful and accommodating to help me transition seamlessly,” Denny said. “Lance Meller and I have worked together for 25 years and he will do amazing things with this storied brand.”
Denny joined Dickies in 2019 after having previously worked at Traeger Grills, Skullcandy, and Vans, and helped create Dickies’ successful growth strategy for Dickies. That strategy, which Dickies is still implementing, includes expanding Dickies globally, accelerating DTC and adding a lifestyle business to complement the core workwear division.
To read more about Dickies’ strategy and performance under Denny, see our interview with him from August.
