William L. McComb

William L. McComb served as Chief Executive Officer of Liz Claiborne, Inc. (renamed Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. in 2012) and was a member of the Company’s Board of Directors from November 6, 2006 to February 25, 2014. He led the Company’s succession in management and name to Kate Spade & Company, after successfully completing an extensive turnaround of the corporation.

Upon joining the Company in November 2006, Mr. McComb was presented with dramatically falling revenue and earnings, an over-levered balance sheet, and fading customer relationships. Over the past several years he has transformed the business by right-sizing the brand portfolio, increasing retail capabilities, building strong teams, and rationalizing global cost structures – all while strategically investing across the company to build powerful brands and repositioning as Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc., and in 2014, Kate Spade & Company.

Mr. McComb began his career with Johnson & Johnson in 1992 as an assistant product director for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company. He advanced through various marketing assignments and joined Johnson & Johnson – Merck in 1995 as group product director. Mr. McComb was named vice president, marketing, McNeil Consumer Products Company in 1999. In July 2001, he was named president of McNeil Consumer Healthcare, assuming additional responsibilities as president of McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Ortho Women’s Health & Urology in July 2004. In his final role at J&J, Bill was Company Group Chairman, responsible for their $6B Global Orthopedic and Neurological medical device businesses. Previously, Mr. McComb worked at Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago, IL, working on advertising for The Procter & Gamble Company.

Mr. McComb currently serves on the boards of the Center for Business Analytics at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Business, and The Marshall Project (a NYC based non-profit). He has served on boards of the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the National Retail Federation, and was a member of the Business Roundtable. Mr. McComb formerly served on the boards of Business Solutions to
Rural Poverty; GS1; OREF and INROADS of Philadelphia. He was vice chairman on the Executive Committee of Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), and a member of the CHPA’s Board of Directors from 2001 – April 2005. Mr. McComb also served as a member of the Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group Operating Committee as well as the Kilts Center for Marketing’s steering committee at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a broadly followed LinkedIn Influencer as well.

Born in Columbia, MO, Mr. McComb earned a B.A. degree in economics from Miami University (Ohio) and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Mr. McComb and his wife are the parents of three grown sons.