Chip Bergh is the former president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., When he took over in 2011, the company was a shadow of its former self. Over the next twelve years he brought the cool back, returning Levi’s to cultural relevance through bold marketing, reimagining women’s apparel, and improving Levi’s stores, ecommerce, and wholesale relationships. Inside the company, he modernized technology, rebuilt the leadership team, paid down debilitating debt, freed up capital for innovation and expansion, and took a stance on controversial social issues. Under Chip, LS&Co. revenues grew roughly 40% and market cap increased five-fold. The company also returned to the public markets with a successful IPO in March 2019 (NYSE: LEVI).

A self-described “brand guy,” Chip’s first book, A Levi's Story: Leading the Revival of an Iconic Brand (Harvard Business Review Press, March 2027) is an inside account of the turnaround, as well as six tenets of what he calls "brand-driven leadership” that reflect lessons from his career.
Prior to Levi’s, Chip spent 28 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G) in roles of increasing complexity in brand management, general management and executive leadership. He headed Gillette’s global blades and razors business following P&G’s $57 billion acquisition of Gillette in 2005. Prior, he helped lead the creation of Swiffer; oversaw the turnaround of Mr. Clean and Old Spice; and worked on other iconic brands like Mr. Coffee and Duncan Hines.

Chip served as a US Army Officer (Air Defense) stationed in West Germany at the height of the Cold War, from 1979-1983, and attended Lafayette College.

Today, he is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, is chairman of the board at HP, Inc. (NYSE: HPQ), and serves on the boards of Lululemon Athletica (NYSE: LULU), Pinterest (NYSE: PINS), and e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF). In 2019, Fortune ranked Chip 16th on its list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, crediting him with bringing the cool back to Levi’s and launching the Safer Tomorrow Fund, a pioneering corporate effort to prevent gun violence. He is widely recognized for his outspoken stances on social issues, including gun-violence prevention and racial justice.

Chip is especially proud that dozens of his direct reports over the years have gone on to be CEOs of other companies.