HanesBrands names Joe Cavaliere to new role of group president, global innerwear

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Jan 22, 2021

Hanesbrands, the parent company of brands like Hanes, Champion and Wonderbra, has named Joe Cavaliere to the newly created role of group president, global innerwear, effective February 8, 2021.

Bringing over 30 years of leadership in major transformations, sales, marketing and operations to the new role, Cavaliere will oversee the company's apparel brands, including Hanes, Bonds, Maidenform, Playtex, Bali and DIM.

Cavaliere comes to Hanesbrands from C&S Wholesale Grocers, where he served as president and general manager of the company’s retail chain division. Before joining C&S in 2018, he served as president and global chief customer officer at Newell Brands, the parent company of Rubbermaid.

In the role, he oversaw global customer development and geographic responsibility for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to joining Newell Brands, he was executive vice president of customer development at Unilever with responsibility for $11 billion in revenue across 17 categories. He also served as executive vice president of sales at Kraft Foods, where he held a number of leadership positions in his over 20-year career with the company.

“I am pleased to name Joe group president of our global innerwear business,” said Steve Bratspies, CEO of Hanesbrands. 

“He brings deep experience driving sales and transformation in retail and consumer goods, and has an impressive record of leading high-performing global teams. I look forward to working with him as he builds our great brands, drives innovation and delivers long-term growth in our global innerwear business.”

Howard Upchurch, group president, innerwear Americas, has announced his retirement after 34 years with the company, Hanesbrands said in a press release. 

Upchurch first joined the company as a marketing assistant in the hosiery business. During his time with the company, he was a leader in creating the company’s integrated innerwear organization and led the expansion of the Hanes brand into new retail channels, the company said .

“I thank Howard for the many contributions he has made to HanesBrands during his 34 years with the company,” Bratspies said. 

“His leadership and vision have helped build our great brands and made the company an industry leader. I appreciate everything he has done to position us to realize the enormous opportunities ahead."

In November 2020, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Hanesbrands reported net sales of $1.81 billion, a decrease of 3.1% from $1.87 billion the year before, in the third quarter ended September 26, 2020. On top of the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, sales were also impacted by Hanes’ exit from the C9 Champion mass program and its DKNY intimate apparel license, which together accounted for $119 million in sales in the prior-year period.