Woolrich Inc. on Monday announced a succession plan after the death last week of president and chief executive officer Roswell Brayton Jr.
The Woolrich board named James Griggs, vice president of finance, to be president, and Charles Aides, senior vice president of apparel manufacturing and sourcing, chairman of the board.
“It is a sad and tragic situation,” Griggs said in a statement. “But we must move forward for the sake of the company and the employees. Roz cared deeply about Woolrich and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We have a great group of people here at Woolrich and that will make this transition easier.”
Since starting at Woolrich in 1987, Griggs has held positions in finance and accounting. A native of Williamsport, Pa., he became vice president of finance in 2005 and joined the Woolrich board last year.
Aides came to Woolrich in 1989 as group manufacturing manager of the Southern/Western division, based in Ailey, Ga. He was promoted to vice president of apparel manufacturing and sourcing in 1994 and moved to company headquarters in Woolrich, Pa. Aides was named to the Woolrich board in 1997, and took his current position in 1999.
“We intend to proceed in the direction that Roz established,” Aides said in the statement. “He had a vision for the company that remains unchanged. I look forward to working with this team to continue with his plans.”
Brayton, a sixth-generation member of the Rich family that founded Woolrich in 1830, joined the family business in 1978, and became president in 1996 and ceo in 1997. He repositioned the 177-year-old company as a lifestyle marketing brand instead of a manufacturer, and expanded the $300 million firm in its international and domestic licensing fronts, plus launched consumer catalogues and e-commerce.
Brayton died March 12 after collapsing at company headquarters. He was 55