Gildan Activewear Inc. Announces Executive Leadership Changes and CFO Transition

Gildan Activewear announces executive leadership changes, including Chuck Ward as COO and Luca Barile as CFO, effective March 2025.

Quiver AI Summary

Gildan Activewear Inc. has announced key executive leadership changes as part of its succession planning. Chuck Ward, currently the President of Sales, Marketing and Distribution, will take on the newly created role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer effective March 1, 2025. Rhodri J. Harries, the current EVP and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, will retire on January 1, 2026, after almost a decade in his role, with Luca Barile, currently the CFO of Sales, Marketing and Distribution, succeeding him as CFO on the same date. Gildan's President and CEO, Glenn J. Chamandy, expressed gratitude to Harries for his significant contributions and welcomed the new appointments, highlighting the company's commitment to strong leadership and its Gildan Sustainable Growth Strategy. The company also released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results and announced guidance for 2025.

Potential Positives

• Appointment of Chuck Ward as EVP, Chief Operating Officer, reflects the company's commitment to strong leadership and continuity during its growth strategy.
• Luca Barile's promotion to EVP, Chief Financial Officer showcases internal talent development and succession planning within Gildan.
• Transition planning for Rhodri Harries ensures stability in financial leadership ahead of his retirement, maintaining the company's strong financial position.
• Company expresses appreciation for outgoing CFO's contributions, which may enhance employee morale and demonstrate a positive corporate culture.

Potential Negatives

• The announcement of Rhodri J. Harries' upcoming retirement could signal potential uncertainty or instability in the financial leadership as the company transitions to a new CFO.
• The need for a multi-year succession planning process may raise concerns about the effectiveness of current leadership and the ability to maintain continuity in the company's strategic direction.
• The mention of Gildan's "long-term financial objectives" might suggest that the company has not achieved its goals as planned, requiring the highlighted succession efforts to drive future success.

FAQ

What recent leadership changes were announced by Gildan Activewear?

Gildan announced Chuck Ward as EVP and COO, and Luca Barile as CFO, reflecting their succession planning process.

When will the new executives start their roles?

Chuck Ward will begin his role on March 1, 2025, and Luca Barile will assume responsibilities on the same date.

Who is retiring from Gildan and when?

Rhodri J. Harries is retiring as EVP, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer on January 1, 2026.

What is Gildan's approach to succession planning?

The company emphasizes internal talent development and has executed a multi-year succession planning strategy to ensure continuity.

What does Gildan produce?

Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel, including activewear, underwear, and socks.

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.

$GIL Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 164 institutional investors add shares of $GIL stock to their portfolio, and 160 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

• BROWNING WEST LP removed 4,004,254 shares (-41.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $188,400,150
• FMR LLC removed 3,015,811 shares (-33.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $141,893,907
• CONNOR, CLARK & LUNN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD. added 1,588,071 shares (+604.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $74,718,740
• JARISLOWSKY, FRASER LTD removed 1,555,263 shares (-15.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $73,175,124
• COLISEUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC removed 1,504,700 shares (-25.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $70,796,135
• MANUFACTURERS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, THE added 1,300,121 shares (+276.9%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $61,170,693
• CIBC ASSET MANAGEMENT INC added 1,022,695 shares (+545.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $48,117,799

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

Full Release

• 
  Chuck Ward, currently President, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, appointed EVP, Chief Operating Officer
  


• 
  Rhodri J. Harries, EVP, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, to retire on January 1, 2026
  


• 
  Luca Barile, currently CFO, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, to succeed as EVP, Chief Financial Officer
  
  
  

MONTREAL, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL: TSX and NYSE) today announced the following executive leadership nominations and a CFO transition as part of a multi-year succession planning process, which are intended to ensure strong continuity as the Company drives forward with the Gildan Sustainable Growth Strategy:

• 
  Chuck Ward, currently President, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, has been appointed to the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (EVP and COO) effective March 1, 2025, and will continue to report to Glenn J. Chamandy, President and CEO. Chuck joined Gildan in 2011 through the acquisition of GoldToe Moretz, where he had served as EVP and Chief Financial Officer and initially led the integration of GoldToe into Gildan. Over the years, he has held several senior roles at Gildan, including leading our yarn spinning operations, overseeing supply chain planning, running our sales, marketing and distribution organization while gaining strong experience in manufacturing.
  
  
  


• 
  Separately, and after almost 10 years in the EVP, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer role, Rhodri (Rhod) J. Harries, has informed the Board of his intention to retire on January 1, 2026. The Company announced that Luca Barile, currently CFO, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, will succeed Rhod, as EVP, Chief Financial Officer, assuming responsibilities on March 1, 2025. To facilitate a smooth transition over a full 10 months, Rhod will retain his Chief Administrator Officer role until his retirement. Luca Barile began his career as a Senior Auditor at a large accounting firm in 2008 before joining Gildan in 2012. At Gildan, Luca has held various roles in Financial Planning and Analysis, Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management, before being promoted to his current role in 2023 as CFO for Sales, Marketing and Distribution.
  
  
  

“I would like to express my deep appreciation to Rhod who has guided our financial performance through many key phases for our Company. Since 2015, he has been an invaluable partner to me, his executive peers and to his teams. He has safeguarded the Company’s solid financial position through disciplined capital allocation, contributing to the achievement of our long-term financial objectives and setting the stage for the future. Although we will still be working together through 2025, I wish him well in retirement next year and want to thank him for his significant contribution to our success” said Glenn J. Chamandy.

Glenn added “I am very pleased to welcome Chuck and Luca into their new roles, appointments that are a testament to our internal bench strength and the effectiveness of our multi-year succession planning efforts. They are both outstanding leaders who are well positioned to step into their roles as we continue to achieve our financial goals, pursue the next exciting stage in Gildan’s growth strategy and drive enhanced long-term value for our stakeholders”.

Fourth-Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results



In a separate press release issued concurrently today, Gildan announced results for fourth quarter and full year ended December 29, 2024, and initiated annual guidance for 2025. A conference call will be held at 8:30 AM ET, and details to access the conference call is available in the

press release

.

About Gildan



Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel. The Company’s product offering includes activewear, underwear and socks, sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms and to global lifestyle brand companies. The Company markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands including Gildan

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, American Apparel

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, Comfort Colors

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, GOLDTOE

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, and Peds

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, and under an exclusive licensing agreement for the printwear channel for Champion

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Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean, North America, and Bangladesh. Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour, environmental and governance practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive ESG program embedded in the Company's long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its ESG practices and initiatives can be found at


www.gildancorp.com


.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.