After four years at the helm of Veja, President Laure Browne stepped down from her role at the French sneaker brand earlier this year, in search of new career opportunities. At Veja, which was founded in 2005 by Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion, Browne formed a leadership trio alongside the two founders.

When Browne joined the company in 2019, Veja had an annual revenue of €34 million and a team of 120 employees spread across France and Brazil. Five years later, the brand has expanded its retail network to over 3,000 stores worldwide, and its sales surpassed the €200 million mark last year. The company is now targeting €280 million in revenue for 2024, with more than four million pairs of sneakers sold globally.

“Appointed as CEO in 2019, Laure Browne departs from Veja after four years alongside founders Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion, seeking new directions for her career at the start of 2024,” the brand stated to FashionNetwork.com regarding her departure.

Veja, which has grown organically through self-financing for 19 years and now has over 500 employees across France, Brazil, and the USA, has experienced rapid international growth. The UK and USA have become its leading markets, surpassing even its home market, France. “Veja thanks Laure Browne for her contributions over the past four years, and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours,” the company added.

Veja was originally founded as a sustainable project focused on supporting natural rubber workers in Brazil. Of its over 500 employees, 400 are based in its three primary markets: France, the USA, and Brazil, where it conducts much of its sourcing operations. On her LinkedIn profile, Browne noted that, during her tenure, the company expanded its international reach, applying a market-specific premium strategy. She also mentioned that Veja’s organisational structure evolved significantly, growing from one to nine subsidiaries, one to five factories, and one to eight logistics warehouses. Last year, the brand also began producing shoes in Portugal. It remains to be seen whether the founders plan to bring in a new CEO to support them in their next stages of development.

In January, the French brand appointed Sergio Guimaraes, previously of Nike Latin America and most recently supply chain director at Bata in Chile, as its new head of production, based in Brazil.

Since the departure of its president, Veja has been strengthening its commercial team. After hiring Anthony Bunn to lead the EMEA team, the French sneaker brand appointed Enrico Pasi as its new global commercial director in late summer.

The 37-year-old Bologna native previously served as the commercial director for Italian-American sneakers brand Autry. In that role, Pasi was responsible for overseeing wholesale and retail strategies, as well as managing shop-in-shops and pop-up stores. His background is expected to be highly beneficial to Veja, as the brand continues to expand its presence with new retail locations internationally. In recent months, Veja has opened stores in both London and New York.

Before his tenure at Autry, Pasi held the position of brand director for Japanese label Suicoke, where he oversaw the brand’s expansion and spearheaded special projects and collaborations. He also spent several years working with Italian streetwear distributor Slam Jam.

Veja, known for its collaborations with partners such as NK Store, Asphaltgold, and Make My Lemonade, currently operates around 10 monobrand stores, including three in Paris and additional locations in New York, London, Bordeaux, Berlin, and Madrid.