Levi Strauss & Co. announced that Chip Bergh has decided to retire from the company as of April 26, 2024. In anticipation of Bergh's retirement, the company's board of directors has elected Michelle Gass, currently the company's president, to succeed Bergh as president and chief executive officer effective January 29, 2024, completing the transition plan announced on November 8, 2022.

In addition, the board has elected Bergh as executive vice chair of the board until his retirement date. Thereafter, Bergh will transition to the role of senior advisor until the end of the company's 2024 fiscal year. Over the course of his tenure, Bergh evolved the company into one of the world's best apparel companies and advanced the Levi's(R) business from a predominantly men's U.S. wholesale bottoms business to a global, DTC-driven one, in addition to reinvigorating the women's business.

Bergh also revitalized the Levi's(R) brand, repositioning it at the center of culture through strategic initiatives like claiming the naming rights for Levi's(R) Stadium and deepening the brand's connection to the music industry. Bergh was also recognized in 2019 as one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine. Notably, LS&Co.

returned to the public markets with a successful IPO in March 2019 and expanded the company's brand portfolio with the acquisition of Beyond Yoga in 2021. Since starting as president of LS&Co. in January 2023, Gass has been responsible for leading the Levi's(R) brand, including its product, merchandising and marketing functions, as well as the company's digital and global commercial operations, while working closely with Bergh.

As a former Fortune 500 CEO, Gass has been focused on accelerating international growth, positioning the Levi's(R) brand as a head-to-toe denim lifestyle apparel business and transitioning LS&Co.'s operating model to a DTC-first organization.