Gibson Brands has appointed former Levi Strauss chief, James “JC” Curleigh as its new president and chief executive officer, but what will he bring to the iconic guitar brand and which direction will he take it?
Curleigh joins Gibson from the iconic jeans company where he served as president of the Levi’s brand, and was a member of its worldwide leadership team. Prior to that he was with ski brand Salomon and outdoor footwear brand Keen.
If you want to get some idea of what Curleigh is all about, take a look at his TED talk from 2013 where he speaks about how he set about transforming Levi Strauss from a company almost entirely focused on only jeans to a company that now sells a complete range of fashion apparel. He may have a background in denim, but it doesn’t sound like he’s much interested in maintaining the status quo.
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