Eleven years after creating Fair Harbor, the founders have stepped into new roles.
Caroline Danehy and her brother Jake have now transitioned into the positions of cofounders, with Jake Danehy, who had served previously as chief executive officer, taking on the role of chairman, and his sister, a board member. Jake Danehy has been succeeded as CEO by Bethany Muths, who joined the company last year as president. Caroline Danehy had served previously as chief creative officer and chief brand officer.
In separate postings on LinkedIn on Monday, the siblings said: “A little over a year ago, [we] welcomed Bethany Muths as our first president to help guide Fair Harbor into its next phase of growth. From Day One, Bethany has been an inspiring leader and a true partner; bringing fresh perspective, deep brand experience, and an unwavering vision for what Fair Harbor will become. I’m thrilled to share that Bethany will be stepping into the role of CEO. I have so much respect for her leadership and am genuinely inspired to see where she takes the brand. Alongside Bethany, I’m also delighted to share that Andrew Aicher has been promoted to chief financial officer and chief operating officer.”
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Muths was a veteran of Mizzen+Main, Ivory Ella and the Brazil-based footwear brand Schutz. Aicher, who was an investment banking analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, joined Fair Harbor in February 2020 as vice president of finance and operations and was elevated to CFO the next year.
In an interview with WWD on Monday, Jake Danehy said, “We’ve been working with Bethany for the last year and she’s been great. We interviewed over 40 executives for her position and she brings a level of professionalism and process to the company. It’s given Caroline and me the opportunity to focus on what we love: me on product innovation and wholesale accounts, and Caroline on the brand side.” He added that after nearly 12 years of “blood, sweat and tears” building the $50 million-plus brand, it was time to trust its future to someone with more experience.
“Caroline and I don’t know what we don’t know but we recognize that Bethany can get Fair Harbor to the next level,” he said.
Fair Harbor was founded in 2014 as a sustainable men’s swim brand named for the favorite summertime haunt of the Danehy family, Fair Harbor on Fire Island, N.Y. Since then it has expanded into a number of other categories as well as womenswear. Caroline Danehy was 17 when she and her 20-year-old brother created the company.
Jake Danehy said the company’s wholesale business is quite strong with retailers such as Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, REI and “hundreds of specialty stores,” currently carrying, or planning to add, the brand. And while it’s best known for its men’s swimwear, its apparel is also performing well. The goal, he said, is “how to own more of his closet and be relevant the rest of the year, not just the summer, and be a great overall apparel brand.”
Although Fair Harbor still offers womenswear, the focus is on men’s as the primary growth opportunity, he said. And although the company had operated a store several years ago, it no longer has a brick-and-mortar presence, although that might change in the future, he said.
in 2022, Fair Harbor received an undisclosed capital investment from Broad Sky Partners, a private equity firm that partners with middle market business services and consumer companies. The investment marked the brand’s first institutional capital funding.
