Jim Gerson returns to Pentland's Speedo North America as president

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 30, 2020

The clothing sector may be reeling from the Covid-19 outbreak, but there’s still plenty of business as usual going on. And on Thursday, Pentland Group said that Jim Gerson will be returning to the recently-acquired Speedo North America business as president.

He held that role from 2010 to 2016 and prior to that was president of surf brand Reef. He’s also held senior VP roles for The North Face and Jantzen swimwear brands.
 
Andy Long, CEO of the group’s Pentland Brands division, said that the “completion of the Speedo North America acquisition and the appointment of Jim, during these uncertain times, demonstrates our long-term commitment to the business and our passion for building a truly global brand”.
 
Gerson added that “it’s a really exciting time to be re-joining team Speedo. Pentland has an outstanding track-record in brand building and growing global sports brands, and that will be instrumental in helping us to grow the Speedo business in North America”.

He starts on June 1 and will report to Long, with a key focus being to lead the Speedo North America team as it prepares for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, as well as growing the brand across the region, within the swim category.
 
Pentland acquired the Speedo brand in 1991 but licensed the trademark to PVH’s predecessor for use in North America and the Caribbean. It bought the rights back this year.