Levi’s chairman to retire

Levi Strauss & Co. Chairman Robert Haas is stepping down from the position early next year, marking the first time in the jeans maker’s 154-year history that its board won’t be led by a descendant of the company’s founder.

Haas’ retirement, announced Wednesday, will become effective at the privately held company’s Feb. 8 annual meeting. He will be replaced as chairman by T. Gary Rogers, a Levi’s director since 1998 and the chief executive of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc. for the last 30 years.

Rogers, 65, will be the first Levi’s chairman not related to Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant who first made his rugged jeans for gold prospectors.

“It’s a heavy mantle,” Rogers said. “I feel like I have heavy shoes to fill. It’s a significant change, but I think it’s an appropriate step for the company.”

Haas, 65, had been chairman since 1989, following in the footsteps of his father, Walter Jr., and his grandfather, Walter Sr.