The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has appointed Rick Helfenbein as the president and CEO of US operations for the Hong-Kong based apparel and footwear giant starting February 15.
Helfenbein is not a sudden find in AAFA. He has worked as a chairman for the past two years and served in the board of the company since 2008.
“It is a great honor for me to have been selected to lead AAFA,” Helfenbein enthused at an event.
“Having worked in the industry my entire career, I understand the important issues we face and will continue the fight to expand and protect opportunities for all our member companies,” added Helfenbein.
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Before working for Luen Thai, he has worked extensively in the arena of apparel manufacturing, Central American Sourcing and Textile Mills. He has been an active member of AAFA’s key events such as Annual Executive Summit in Washington DC and the American Image Award.
“I look forward to working closely with the AAFA team to enhance our leadership position on trade issues, protect our members’ intellectual property, and to be the number one trade organization for our industry, where members can discuss and act on our most important issues,” Helfenbein said.
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Rick Helfenbein holds an undergraduate degree in economics from The Wharton School and has lectured frequently on supply chain and international trade at prestigious business schools like Cornell, Columbia, Wharton and Harvard. He will take over the reins from Juanita Duggan who remains CEO until February 8.
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