Levi Strauss names new senior vice president and chief digital officer

Levi Strauss & Co. has announced the appointment of Jason Gowans as senior vice president and chief digital officer for LS&Co., effective February 6.

In the new role, Gowans has been tasked with bringing together the company’s engineering, data, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital product management to drive efforts in both e-commerce and the digital market.

His appointment comes as Levi Strauss sets out on a plan to grow the business, a move it unveiled last year in which it stated that digital was to be a main component.

The decision to name a chief digital officer is linked to the company’s efforts to manage its primary growth drivers, it said in a release, including its DTC revenue within loyalty and e-commerce acceleration.

Commenting on the appointment, Chip Bergh, president and CEO at LS&Co., said: “Jason is a seasoned leader with a proven track record and expertise in creating digital experiences that delight consumers, and I have no doubt that he will help us accelerate our strategies to digitally transform the company and be DTC first.

“Jason’s deep knowledge of data science, combined with his strong digital expertise, will help us digitally transform all parts of our business — from supply chain to marketing to ecommerce — and accelerate our growth.”

Gowans joins the company from Nordstrom, where he served in a variety of roles for around 10 years.

Most recently, he held the position of SVP, digital commerce, and was credited with leading the growth of Nordstrom’s digital businesses.