Global wrangler
CANDACE S. CUMMINGS
Vice president, general counsel and secretary, VF Corp.
Age 62
COMPANY PROFILE
VF Corp., headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., is
the world’s largest apparel company. It was founded
in Pennsylvania in 1899 as the Reading Glove and
Mitten Manufacturing Co. and morphed into Vanity
Fair Intimate Apparel and then into VF Corp. in 1969,
when it bought Kansas City’s H.D. Lee Co., the manu-
facturer of Lee Jeans. Among its other well-known
brands are North Face, Wrangler, Jansport and Nau-
tica. VF Corp.’s Reef line incorporates renewable,
recycled and organic materials. VF owns more than
630 retail stores, has 44,000 employees and in
2008 reported revenues of $7.6 billion.
LEGAL TEAM AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL
Cummings manages a 15-lawyer department, the
attorneys spread across groups of brands including
action sports, sportswear, trademark-holding companies, uniforms and licensed sports apparel. The
lawyers are based in Greensboro, New York, Delaware,
Tennessee, Belgium and Switzerland.
Cummings tries to handle as much work as possible
in-house. Whether to use outside counsel depends
on the type of work at issue and geographical considerations. Among her frequently used firms are New
York-based Davis Polk & Wardwell (mergers and acquisitions) and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (antitrust); Baker
& McKenzie (used globally); Ogletree, Deakins, Nash,
Smoak & Stewart (labor); and Miami-based Sandler,
Travis & Rosenberg (customs). Cummings reports to
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Eric
C. Wiseman.
OUTSIDE COUNSEL
COMPANY
VF CORP.
CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS/M&A
Davis Polk & Wardwell
INTERNATIONAL
Baker & McKenzie
DAILY DUTIES
Cummings directs all of VF Corp.’s legal matters,
including securities law, mergers and acquisitions, corpo-
rate law, governance, intellectual property, litigation and
human resources. Her year opens with proxy season and
Form 10-K work. When mergers, divestitures or acquisi-
tions are in the works, her focus shifts accordingly. Then
there are quarterly board meetings to prepare for. Given
VF Corp.’s global reach, “I start East, and I dial West all
day,” Cummings said, beginning with business affairs
in Hong Kong and Europe and wrapping up with units
on the West Coast. She views herself as a generalist,
which is “incredibly valuable as a general counsel.”
Apparel is a relatively unregulated industry, but
Cummings finds that companies like hers must be
sensitive to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion, antitrust, Sarbanes-Oxley and customs issues.
VF Corp. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company is highly branded, Cummings noted,
meaning that, while most people have heard of its
brands, far fewer are aware of VF Corp. itself. The
company engages in extensive licensing and enjoys
relationships with major sports organizations including the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
and professional football, hockey, basketball and
baseball leagues.
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
SECURITIES
Davis Polk & Wardwell
