Mr. Steve Lesnard is the Global Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of The North Face, a company that offers durable products dedicated to the great outdoors. These items include coats, footwear, backpacks, and other equipment that caters to men and women who love adventure and exploring nature. Lesnard has always enjoyed athletic activities since he was a child living in the Paris and Corsica areas.
After receiving his business degree in Paris, Steve moved to the United States and continued his studies at Babson College in Massachusetts, where he received a master’s in business administration. His career took him into the field of marketing and management in the sports sector. During the next 20 years, he would excel in the areas of product development, combining technology and analytics in brand campaigns to create successful strategies for clients.
Since the pandemic, people are not able to indulge freely in Mother Nature through travel. Folks are looking for ways to have fun in their backyards, especially individuals with children. Steve Lesnard found a way to entertain families with The North Face Summer Base Camp. This two-week program provides a virtual experience that allowed kids and adults to engage with athletes while getting involved in recreational activities.
Recently, Steve Lesnard has been involved in a couple of specific projects, one changing lives and the other focusing on fashion.
The Reset Normal Project
Too many communities of color seem to not have the opportunities of venturing out in nature without facing obstacles. Studies cite that through systemic racism, people of color (POC) are deprived of these types of opportunities that others possibly take for granted. The North Face CMO Steve Lesnard plans to change this unfortunate predicament by offering $7 million for Reset Normal, a global campaign that is committed to making outdoor exploration more diverse.
Steve Lesnard is working with Lena Wait, an award-winning actor, and producer, Jimmy Chin, who has received an Academy Award for directing, along with a spectrum of members from different backgrounds. Partnering with The North Face’s program Explore Fund Council, they will find innovative ways to level the playing field by making POC feel welcome as they participate in discovering places, such as city parks, mountain trails, and other beauty spots the natural world has to offer.
The original base of The North Face Explore Fund has been around for 10 years with the intention of linking to various communities and not-for-profit organizations, so they can have support in protecting their natural surroundings. After the pandemic and social unrest of 2020, Steve Lesnard felt that there was a need to expand the initiative to move forward and reinvent normal. Hence the name Reset Normal.
The North Face and Gucci Unite
When The North Face and Gucci Collab, people know that it will be something phenomenal. Steve Lesnard and Mr. Alessandro Michele of Gucci have produced a fierce range of products and accessories that exudes bold and floral patterns from their The North Face x Gucci capsules collection. The news about The North Face and Gucci Collab spread fast, causing some individuals to search online for information on where pop-up shops would surface. The shops have appeared in multiple cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, and Toronto.
The experience of The North Face and Gucci Collab centers on the outdoor. As customers enter the stores, they step onto the green turf flooring, which imitates grass. Motivated by nature, Steve and Alessandro designed the inside of the building to resemble a pathway that folks explore out in the wild. Tents shaped as domes have starlit interiors. Small hills dotting the landscape add to the ambiance coupled with 8D technology and a QR code, which produce the sound effects of the natural world. The North Face and Gucci wanted to make sure customers have a memorable time as they shop.
Steve Lesnard’s love for sports, athletic activities, and overall zest for outdoor adventures has made his career fun.