Rick Darling
Executive director of Government & Trade Relations | Li & Fung Trading
Rick Darling serves as Executive Director, Government & Trade Relations for Li & Fung Trading, a multi-national consumer goods sourcing company recognized as a leader in design, development, sourcing and distribution with over 300 offices and distribution centers in more than 40 economies. He is a longtime advocate for bringing innovation, creativity and sustainability to the apparel industry and its related supply chain.
Darling oversees the company’s Government Relations & Trade Relations, Vendor Compliance & Sustainability, and multi-stakeholder initiatives such as improving worker safety in Bangladesh. He represents Li & Fung as an Advisor to The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety formed by North America’s major global retailers and to The Accord on Fire & Building Safety in Bangladesh formed by major European retailers and brands.
Prior to his current role, Darling founded The Millwork Trading Company which specialized in private label programs for specialty retailers and wholesalers in the U.S. and Japan. After a 16 year joint venture with Li & Fung, it was acquired by Li & Fung in 1998. He then successfully established Li & Fung USA (LF USA) in 2004 and served as its president for over a decade. In 2014, LF USA was spun off into the Global Brands Group, which incorporated the brands portion of the business and now traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Darling has served two consecutive terms as the Chairman for the American Apparel & Footwear Association, and is on the Boards of the University of Arkansas, KIDS/Fashion Delivers, and Clear Energy. He has been a member of the Parsons Board of Governor and, on the Advisory Board of the Industrial & Labor Relations School at Cornell University.
