James Curleigh

James "JC" Curleigh was appointed as president and chief executive officer of Gibson brand in 2018. Curleigh leads a Gibson senior team of proven global professionals with broad experience across brand building, product quality and innovation, and business development to establish operational excellence and build a strong team dynamic across the enterprise. They collectively focus on setting the conditions for success for Gibson Brands to continue to create high quality instruments, develop meaningful partnerships and deliver profitable growth across the core business of guitars and beyond. Curleigh joined Gibson from Levi Strauss & Co., where he served as president of the Levi's brand, and was a member of its worldwide leadership team.

Prior to working at Gibson, Curleigh joined Levi in July 2012 to serve as President of the Levi’s® brand. In this position, he was responsible for managing the strategic direction and execution of the brand. With his team, he was focused on building on the brand’s strong heritage by identifying innovative ways to connect with consumers around the world.

Curleigh is passionate about building brands and leading exceptional teams, and he has translated this to a track record of consistently strong results throughout his career.

Curleigh has more than 20 years of experience building and expanding consumer brands around the globe. Prior to joining Levi Strauss & Co., Curleigh served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Keen Footwear, Inc., a footwear and accessory company. Before Keen, Curleigh was president and chief executive officer of Salomon Sports North America, an innovative performance sports company. He also established and led TaylorMade adidas golf division in Europe and held various leadership positions in the London office of M&M Mars, a global consumer goods company.

Curleigh holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada.