By Anne D'Innocenzio, Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Levi Strauss & Co. said Thursday that its CEO will step down in January and hand over the reins of the jeans maker to his appointed successor.
Chip Bergh, 66, will cede the CEO job to Michelle Gass, 55, who left her CEO role at Kohl's to become president of Levi's in January of this year.
Bergh, who took over at the San Francisco company in September 2011, will stay on as executive vice chair until he retires in late April, Levi Strauss said. He will remain on as an advisor through the end of the fiscal year.
Gass will take on the CEO position on Jan. 29. The move completes the succession plan that was announced just over a year ago, when Levi Strauss had said Gass was joining the company to succeed Bergh within 18 months.
Over the course of his tenure, Bergh moved the brand from a predominantly men's U.S. wholesale pants business to a global, direct-to-consumer company. He also reinvigorated the women's business. Under his leadership, Levi Strauss 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.
Prior to joining Levi Strauss, Bergh served in top roles at Procter & Gamble during a 21-year tenure.
Since starting as president of Levi's, Gass has been responsible for leading the Levi's brand, including its product, merchandising and marketing functions, as well as the company's e-commerce and global commercial operations, while working closely with Bergh. The company said Gass has been focused on accelerating international growth, positioning the brand as a head-to-toe denim lifestyle clothing business.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More