Gildan Activewear’s board announces that Vince Tyra will be President and CEO
by CM Staff
Most recently, Vince led corporate strategy for Houchens Industries, a $4 billion revenue employee-owned holding company.
MONTREAL — The Board of Directors of Gildan Activewear Inc. announces that Vince Tyra will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer on Monday, January 15, 2024. At the Board’s request, Mr. Tyra has made himself available to move the start date from February 12 to respond to requests to engage early with key stakeholders and bring needed stability and leadership to the Company as it embarks on its next chapter.
“When the Board began the external phase of the CEO search back in May of 2023, we knew that scaling the Company in an increasingly complex and competitive environment demanded a hands-on CEO with fresh ideas, deep apparel experience, a keen understanding of manufacturing and expertise in areas like marketing, merchandising and product development. After a robust selection process that evaluated both internal and external candidates, we selected Vince as the next chief executive of Gildan Activewear,” said Donald C. Berg, Chairman of the Board.
Vince Tyra had reportedly invested in and grew his own activewear business in his twenties utilizing Gildan as a key supplier. He then joined Fruit of the Loom where the Board of Directors promoted him to president to develop and implement a restructuring plan that put Fruit of the Loom back on sound financial footing ahead of its eventual sale to Berkshire Hathaway.
Bain Capital noticed Vince’s turnaround work at Fruit of the Loom and hired him to be CEO of Broder Bros., a leading apparel distributor, following in the founder’s footsteps. Bain Capital later introduced Vince to Southfield Capital, where he went on to a successful career in private equity. Vince has served on the Board of Directors at 10 companies and stepped in as interim CEO at three to help each move toward successful financial exits.
Most recently, Vince led corporate strategy for Houchens Industries, a $4 billion revenue employee-owned holding company. Dion Houchins is the CEO and Chairman of Houchens, who said:
“In a short period of time, Vince proved himself to be an invaluable member of the Houchens executive leadership team. Vince’s experience as a leader in a variety of industries prior to joining Houchens made him a perfect fit for assessing and making strategic recommendations with regards to potential acquisitions as well as tweaking the direction and strategy for the existing Houchens portfolio. Vince’s ability to drill down into the complexities of a business and make a sound evaluation is a skill set honed by over 35 years of high-level business experience. Vince was the right person at the right time for Houchens, and we are a stronger company for having had him. Given the right tools and proper support, Gildan employees and shareholders will see similar benefits from his leadership. Vince is a business professional in every sense of the word.”
The Board welcomes Vince to Montreal and says they look forward to working with him.
