Bracken Darrell

CEO of VF Corporation with a track record in leading brand and company turnarounds.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

A company's speed and pace of execution can serve as a competitive advantage as effective as any traditional moat.

The most strategic choice in AI adoption is deciding whether to use it to augment individual employees or to fundamentally re-engineer and potentially replace entire business functions.

Transforming a company into a design-centric organization is a core pillar of a successful turnaround and long-term value creation.

A successful brand turnaround requires a holistic strategy that includes adjusting pricing, upgrading the product, and launching bold new advertising campaigns.

Divesting a brand, even at a significant financial loss, is the correct strategic decision if it does not fit within the company's core portfolio identity.

Podcast consensus on Darrell

Points of consensus

▶Bracken Darrell has a consistent and proven playbook for corporate turnarounds, successfully applied to declining brands like Old Spice at Procter & Gamble and later at Logitech.Apr 2026

▶He champions a design-centric approach as a core strategy for corporate revitalization, believing it is fundamental to innovation and long-term value creation.

▶Darrell's leadership is associated with significant financial growth, most notably increasing Logitech's value tenfold during his decade-long tenure as CEO.Apr 2026

▶He views technology, particularly AI, as a critical strategic lever, emphasizing the choice between augmenting individual employee productivity and fundamentally re-engineering entire business functions.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶The sale of Supreme for a $600 million loss highlights a strategic tension between correcting a past acquisition that lacked portfolio fit and absorbing a significant financial write-down.Apr 2026

▶Darrell's strategy of using high-fashion collaborations (e.g., Gucci, Louis Vuitton) for performance-oriented brands like The North Face and Timberland creates a potential conflict between maintaining core brand identity and chasing ephemeral fashion trends.Apr 2026

▶His stated goal of transforming VF Corp into a high-growth company is in direct contrast with the declining state he inherited, presenting a significant execution challenge.Apr 2026

▶There is an inherent challenge in applying a turnaround strategy honed in consumer packaged goods and tech hardware to the culturally-driven and trend-sensitive apparel and footwear market of VF Corporation.

Key themes

▶The Turnaround Playbook

Darrell has a repeatable methodology for reviving declining businesses, demonstrated at Old Spice and Logitech. This playbook involves a multi-faceted approach including product upgrades, strategic pricing, bold marketing, and a cultural shift, which he is now applying to VF Corporation.

Investors may see a pattern of predictable value creation, but must also consider whether this playbook is universally applicable to the unique cultural and market dynamics of the apparel industry.

▶Design as a Core CompetencyApr 2026

A central theme in Darrell's leadership is the transformation of companies into design-centric organizations. He views moving design from an outsourced function to an in-house, strategic pillar as critical for innovation and brand revitalization, a project he found deeply rewarding at Logitech and plans to replicate at VF Corp.

This focus signals a long-term investment in brand equity and product innovation over short-term cost efficiencies, which could impact margins initially but is intended to build a more durable competitive advantage.

▶Pragmatic and Strategic AI AdoptionApr 2026

Darrell frames AI not just as a tool for incremental productivity gains but as a fundamental strategic choice. He believes leaders must decide whether to use AI to augment existing roles or to completely re-engineer and potentially replace entire business functions, a decision that will shape a company's future competitiveness.

This perspective suggests a more profound and potentially disruptive approach to technology integration than simply adopting off-the-shelf tools, indicating a willingness to overhaul core business processes at VF Corp.

▶Strategic Brand Portfolio CurationApr 2026

Darrell demonstrates a disciplined approach to managing a portfolio of brands, emphasizing strategic fit over retaining assets at all costs. The decision to sell Supreme, despite the financial loss, was driven by its identity as a fashion street brand rather than a performance-oriented one, which is the core focus he envisions for VF Corporation.

This action signals that Darrell is actively reshaping VF Corp's identity and is willing to make difficult, financially painful decisions to achieve a more coherent and defensible brand portfolio, potentially foreshadowing further divestitures.

Source episodes

Timeline

Pre-Logitech

At Procter & Gamble, Darrell led the successful turnaround of the Old Spice brand, which was in a steep, multi-year decline and at risk of being discontinued. His strategy doubled market share in its first year.

c. 2012-2023

Served as CEO of Logitech for 11 years. He took over when the company was in decline and had underinvested in innovation, leading a strategic and cultural redesign that increased the company's value by a factor of 10 over his tenure.

c. 2023

After turning 60, Darrell decided to seek a new public company leadership role, leading to his departure from Logitech.

Present

As the current CEO of VF Corporation, he has articulated a primary goal of transforming it into a sustainable, high-growth, design-centric company, drawing parallels to his experience at Logitech.

Recent Actions at VF Corp

Has overseen significant strategic moves, including the sale of the Supreme brand to Luxottica for $1.5 billion at a $600 million loss, the initiation of approximately 20 different AI projects, and the revival of the Vans Warped Tour.

Suggested prompts

How does Bracken Darrell's turnaround playbook, honed in tech hardware (Logitech) and CPG (Old Spice), need to be adapted for the trend-driven apparel industry at VF Corp? &nearr;What are the potential risks and rewards of Darrell's strategy to infuse performance brands like The North Face with high-fashion collaborations, and how might it impact their core consumer base? &nearr;Given the $600M loss on the Supreme sale, how does this decision reflect Darrell's philosophy on long-term strategic fit versus short-term financial performance? &nearr;How might Darrell's strategic view on AI—augmenting individuals versus re-engineering functions—manifest differently across VF Corp's diverse brand portfolio like Vans versus The North Face? &nearr;

Key concepts

VF Corporation 10 ep Logitech 4 ep Brand Turnaround 4 ep Design-Centricity 4 ep AI Strategy 3 ep Old Spice 3 ep Vans 3 ep Supreme 2 ep Brand Collaborations 2 ep Competitive Advantage 1 ep

Notable quotes

“I think there are two big decisions to make when it comes to any application of AI. One is, am I going to give it to the lowest level person who might be able to use it today so that they can be more productive? Or am I going to give it to the highest level person who can imagine how it can be used today so that they can make the whole company more productive?”

Bracken Darrell · He Turns Everyday Brands Into OBSESSIONS - Here’s the Playbook!

“From a real design standpoint, though, I'd say redesigning Logitech to become what it was was probably the most fun thing I've ever done.”

Bracken Darrell · He Turns Everyday Brands Into OBSESSIONS - Here’s the Playbook!

“I think we 10X the value of the company over 10 years.”

Bracken Darrell · He Turns Everyday Brands Into OBSESSIONS - Here’s the Playbook!

“the starting point for me was strategically, does this brand fit inside our portfolio? it's much more of a fashion street brand than a performance brand many of our brands as you know like north face are very performance oriented”

Bracken Darrell · He Turns Everyday Brands Into OBSESSIONS - Here’s the Playbook!

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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