Liz Investor Passes Away
J. James Gordon, one of the first investors in Liz Claiborne Inc. and a member of the company’s board of directors until 2003, died on Aug. 25 after a long illness. He was 78. Gordon, who started his own textile company, Gordon Textiles International, in 1984, was one of the people instrumental in helping Liz Claiborne grow from a one-label company geared toward the working woman to a multi-label corporation with revenues that totaled nearly $4 billion last year. He was on the board that hired Paul Charron, who eventually became chief executive of Liz Claiborne in 1994. Gordon is survived by his wife, Jacquie; four children; a stepdaughter; four grandchildren; and a sister.
