Chief Executive Officer & Board Director
Lands' End
Charlie Cole has spent more than two decades at the intersection of brand, technology, and commerce — building and reimagining some of the world's most recognizable consumer businesses. Today, he leads Lands' End into its next chapter, bringing a rare blend of digital fluency and brand instinct to a company with more than 60 years of earned trust.
Most recently, Charlie served as Interim Chief Digital Officer of Thuma, and previously as President of XGen AI, an AI-powered commerce software company acquired by Zoovu in 2026. His path has taken him through the C-suite of some of retail's most iconic names: CEO of Tribute Technology, CEO of FTD, Chief Digital Officer of TUMI, and Global Chief eCommerce Officer of Samsonite.
Across every role, Charlie has brought the same instinct — using digital transformation and customer-centric innovation not as disruption for its own sake, but as a way to unlock growth while staying true to what made a brand matter in the first place. It's the same philosophy he brings to Lands' End now: honoring six decades of heritage while building for the next generation of customers.
Monday Jan 11
10:45am - 11:15am
Mirakl Stage, Javits North, Rm 406
For more than 60 years, Lands’ End has earned a place in customers’ lives by making dependable, thoughtfully designed products for real people, real plans and real weather. That history isn’t something to move away from. It’s what CEO Charlie Cole calls the brand’s “cheat code”: generations of trust, product authority and customer relationships that few brands can replicate.
Join Charlie for a fireside chat about using that advantage to build the next chapter of one of America’s most enduring brands. How do you welcome a new generation while continuing to serve the customers who made the brand what it is? Where can technology meaningfully improve the customer experience—and where must product truth and human connection continue to lead? How do leaders create change that employees and customers can understand, believe in and help carry forward?
From modern marketing and brand storytelling to technology, personalization and customer experience, hear how Lands’ End is bringing fresh energy and relevance to the strengths it has built over generations, turning an iconic legacy into a foundation for what comes next.
