Levi Strauss names new chairman T. Gary Rogers hails from Dreyer's

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Dec 14, 2007 | by George Avalos

Levi Strauss & Co. has named T. Gary Rogers, top boss a Oakland- based Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, to be chairman of the board at Levi, the jeans maker announced Wednesday.

Rogers, 65, will retire at the end of December after 30 years as chairman and chief executive officer of Dreyer's. He will become chairman of San Francisco-based Levi Strauss in February 2008. With a partner, William Cronk, Rogers bought Dreyer's in 1977 for $1.1 million. Over the decades, they transformed Dreyer's from a regional ice cream business into the nation's largest provider of premium and super premium ice cream.

In January 2006, Nestle completed its $2.59 billion purchase of Dreyer's when it scooped up one-third of Dreyer's to go along with the two-thirds Nestle already owned.

Rogers sees a lot of similarities between the two Bay Area companies, including their approach to consumers and how they treat employees and their communities.

"Dreyer's is a values-based company and Levi always has been that," Rogers said in an interview with this paper Wednesday. "They are both consumer products companies, although very different ones. But knowing the consumer is very important to both enterprises."

He also sees similarities in the size of the two companies. "Dreyer's is now approaching $2.5 billion in revenue, Levi is on the order of $4.5 billion," Rogers said.

Rogers replaces Robert Haas, who is retiring as Levi's chairman after 18 years. Rogers will become the first chairman at Levi who is not a family member, Rogers said. Rogers has been on the Levi board for 10 years.

"Gary is an exceptional business leader who has added great value to our board deliberations and strategicdiscussions for many years," Haas said in a prepared release.

Rogers said he is taking on the chairman's role at a time when Levi has managed to rebound from previous difficulties.

"Levi is in the late stages of a turnaround," Rogers said. "The company is growing again. It is a matter of sustaining and building on that."

Levi has a relatively new chief executive officer, John Anderson, who came up through the Levi ranks, Rogers said.

"I see the role of chairman as supporting the agenda and priorities of the CEO," Rogers said.

Over the first nine months of its 2007 fiscal year, Levi Strauss & Co. earned $193.2 million on revenue of $3.1 billion. Revenues for the nine months that ended on Aug. 26 were up 5 percent from the prior year, profits were up 35 percent.

"Levi had to go through a major change or reconstruction of its business model, going back quite a few years," Rogers said. He said Levi at the time was one of the last apparel manufacturers that were still making their products in the United States. Like others in the industry, Levi has shifted that manufacturing overseas, Rogers said.

Rogers joked that in some ways it would be tough to leave Dreyer's, especially considering what the company makes.

"It's kind of hard to leave being the CEO of the largest ice cream company in the country, because it's kind of like being Santa Claus," Rogers said. "Everyone has their favorite flavor."

He also enjoyed running Dreyer's for so many years.

"Being CEO at Dreyer's is a wonderful role, and I'll miss it," Rogers said. "Being chairman at Levi is a natural extension of the experience I've had. I'm looking forward to this."

George Avalos covers jobs, economic development, commercial real estate, finance and petroleum. Reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com.