VF reshuffles leadership in EMEA

By

Robin Driver

Published
Nov 5, 2019

VF Corporation announced three new appointments in its leadership in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region on Monday. The American apparel, footwear and accessories company named Andrea Cannelloni as EMEA president for product platform, Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart as president of Napapijri and the VF EMEA digital platform, and Mariano Alonso as VP and general manager of Timberland in the EMEA region.

 
Cannelloni’s role is a newly created position and will see the executive take on responsibility for accelerating the integration of product development, sustainability, innovation and materials. He will also oversee the development of new technologies, including digital product creation, and will continue to lead VF’s EMEA product platform.

Cannelloni, who was once the creative director of Boss Orange, has led Napapijri since 2009, when he replaced Massimiliano Tosi as VP for the brand. During this time, he drove the label’s transformation and global expansion, which included the development of the industry’s first 100% recyclable jacket, a reimagining of the brand’s iconic Skidoo model.

Schmidt-Eisenhart will now be taking the helm at Napapijri, having already held a range of different leadership roles at VF over the course of the last 12 years. Most recently, he served as EMEA president at Timberland, leading its integration into VF following its acquisition and successfully driving five consecutive years of growth at the brand.
 
As he switches brands, he will continue to head up VF’s EMEA digital platform and will still be responsible for overseeing the company’s relationships with digital key accounts in the region.
 
Following Schmidt-Eisenhart’s transfer to Napapijri, Alonso has been promoted to take over at Timberland. In his new role, the executive will be tasked with leading the brand in its new phase of expansion in the EMEA region, and will oversee a multi-channel sales team, marketing and merchandising.
 
Alonso has 20 years of industry experience and first joined VF as VP of sales at Timbrland EMEA in 2014. He was subsequently appointed as VP for sales and retail.
 
“One of the reasons for VF’s ongoing success in the region is a strong, cohesive leadership team with extensive business management experience, industry knowledge and a deep understanding of our company culture and vision,” explained VF’s EMEA president, Martino Scabbia Guerrini, in a release. “I am thankful to Andrea, Timo and Mariano for their many contributions, passion and deep commitment to VF and our collective success.”
 
Having said goodbye to its denim division through the spin-off of Kontoor Brands earlier this year, VF unveiled a fresh new strategy to turn the company into a “consumer-minded and retail-centric enterprise” in September, revealing a notable focus on digital development.
 
In October, the group announced some more specific targets for the EMEA region, where it hopes to see a CAGR of between 6% and 7% from 2019 to 2024. Over the next few years, the company is expecting the strongest growth in the region to come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the CAGR is predicted to be between 10% and 11% leading up to 2024.
 
As for its EMEA expansion projects, having suffered from the ill effects of the “yellow vest” protests in France, VF is now focusing its efforts on London and Milan, a shift which involves a flurry of new stores in both cities.
 
All of the appointments announced on Monday are effective as of November 1, 2019. Cannelloni and Schmidt-Eisenhart will report to Scabbia Guerrini. Alonso will report to both Scabbia Guerrini and Jim Pisani, Timberland’s global president.