Dzialo Gets Top Lee Post
NEW YORK – Joseph Dzialo has been appointed president of VF Corp.’s Lee brand, effective Sept. 25.
Dzialo most recently spent two years with The Timberland Co., where he served as senior vice president and general manager of U.S. sales with responsibility for apparel and footwear. At Lee, he will report to Angelo LaGrega, president of VF’s Jeanswear-Americas Coalition, and be based at Lee’s headquarters in Merriam, Kansas.
He succeeds Gordon Harton, who retired in April after 35 years with the firm.
“We are extremely excited about Joe joining the Lee team and VF,” LaGrega said in a statement. “Joe has 30 years of strategic development and brand building experience. His outstanding leadership qualities make him a great addition to our strong Lee management team.”
Prior to Timberland, Dzialo was with LCA-Vision for four years, where his posts included president and chief operating officer. Prior to that, beginning in 1991, he spent seven years as president of the Easy Spirit Wholesale Footwear division of U.S. Shoe, which later became part of Nine West Group. He began his career in brand management positions with Procter & Gamble in 1976 and moved to U.S. Shoe’s LensCrafters division in 1988.
“With the recent launch of new, consumer-validated products backed by our new brand campaign, ‘Get what fits,’ this is an exciting time to be joining Lee, an iconic, global brand with a very strong management team and great culture,” Dzialo said.