Moves Profile: The Shoe Fits

Jan Wolfe

Corporate Counsel

07-01-2012

The world's largest apparel and footwear company is trying a new top lawyer on for size.

VF Corporation, whose brands include Nautica, Lee Jeans, and The North Face, promoted LAURA MEAGHER to the post of vice president, general counsel, and secretary in March. She took over for VF's first-ever general counsel, CANDACE CUMMINGS, who is retiring after 16 years at the Greensboro, North Carolina–based company.

Meagher is well suited to the role, having worked at VF since 2004. As deputy general counsel, she provided legal oversight for VF's largest division, outdoor and action sports, which includes brands like Vans and Kipling. A longtime specialist in mergers and acquisitions and securities laws, Meagher was integral to VF's 2011 acquisition of The Timberland Company, said Eric Wiseman, VF's chief executive officer, in a ­statement.

Meagher greatly enjoys working in the apparel industry: "It has an amazing complexity, when you think about all the aspects of it—the supply chain, the marketing, the channels of distribution."

Creative things are happening on the business side, Meagher adds. "People at the company are doing great things in e-commerce, social media, and at our retail stores. The technology is moving and developing very quickly," she says.

Meagher says she hopes to help VF continue to expand internationally. A third of VF's revenue comes from international sales, and five members of the 18-person legal department are stationed outside the United States. "It's a fun and interesting challenge to maximize our business opportunities abroad," she says. "And I'm always delighted to work with our international colleagues."

Meagher has some big shoes to fill in stepping in for Cummings. Throughout her 17 years at the company, she guided it through major acquisitions and implemented new compliance programs. Cummings said in a statement that she is "thrilled" to have Meagher as her successor.

Meagher attended Washington University in St. Louis and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. She is a product of the Benesch law firm. Her first in-house gig was at Allen Telecom Inc., a maker of wireless phone infrastructure equipment that was acquired by Andrew Corporation in 2003.