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Our Team

We’re proud of the products we produce, our custom fiber blend, and the people behind the brand that make it all happen.

Thomas Lee

Partner

Thomas Lee is a partner at Sockwell. He has nearly twenty years of experience in the hosiery industry, in addition to careers in banking, private equity, metal fabrication, and the foundry industry.

Thomas’s first stint in the hosiery industry was with Crescent Hosiery Mills, a specialty manufacturer of socks. It was while at Crescent that Thomas met Jim Markley who at the time was heading up sales for Smartwool.

Subsequent to his time at Crescent, Thomas served as General Manager of Wheland Foundry’s Grey Iron Division in Chattanooga, the largest independent automotive foundry in the country at the time. Upon leaving Wheland, Thomas spent several years working in the Private Equity investing business before purchasing a metal fabrication business. In 2003, Thomas purchased MCA Fabrication, a producer of retail store fixturing, displays, and a variety of other metal fabricated products. He ran the business for four years before selling it in 2007. It was at this point that Thomas and Jim Markley pooled their talents and experience to start Goodhew, LLC the maker of Sockwell socks. Thomas is involved in the daily operations of the business and oversees all aspects of operations, finance, and product sourcing. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Virginia McIntyre School of Commerce with a degree in Finance and a graduate of the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Kenan Flagler Business School where he earned his MBA.

Jim Markley

Partner

Jim Markley is a partner at Sockwell. He has more than 30 years of experience in the sports apparel industry, working with and for brands including Champion, Thule, ASICS Tiger, and Smartwool.

An entrepreneur from the beginning, Jim operated Southeastern Sales, an independent sales firm representing brands throughout the sports apparel industry, out of Greensboro, NC, for over 15 years before being recruited to join Signal Apparel Company and relocate to Chattanooga—when Jim, his wife Sue, and two boys fell in love with Chattanooga and decided they would make it their forever home.

In 1994, Jim joined Smartwool team in its infancy as VP of Sales, leading the company’s sales efforts through exponential growth. Jim left Smartwool in May 2006, after the company sold to Timberland for $86 million.

Taking a couple years to invest in local brands and spend time with his family, Jim connected with Thomas Lee to found Goodhew, LLC (now known as Sockwell) where Jim is responsible for spearheading the company’s long-term growth strategy. 
Jim is a graduate of the University of Arizona where he studied International Relations.

Mercedes Marchand

VP of Design

Mercedes Marchand is the VP of Design at Sockwell. She began her design career in the 1980’s in New York City, designing for many brands with a notable sixteen years as VP of Design at Ralph Lauren Hosiery.

Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mercedes traveled the world extensively for manufacturing and design research, and, worked with global creative teams to create accessories collections for United Colors of Benetton and Giorgio Armani for the US.

In 2001, after years of competing in triathlons and practicing Ashtanga Yoga in New York City, Mercedes relocated to Colorado to connect with her love of the outdoors and launched her career at Smartwool where she created the lifestyle sock collection and brought color and modern design to all categories. Mercedes influences played a notable role in growing the brand from a $25 to $100 million-dollar business during her tenure.

After eight years at Smartwool, drawn by her passion for health and wellness, Mercedes relocated to New Mexico to start working on a concept for therapeutic, high-performance socks elevated by design and color. In 2010, Mercedes’ lifelong passion for wellness was a catalyst to join forces with Jim Markley and Thomas Lee to launch a solution-based collection of socks.

Mercedes is grateful to be able to apply her life’s accumulated knowledge and expertise to make products that can help people feel a little better every day…in style, of course.

Emily Yann

Director of Sales

Emily Yann is the Director of Sales and Sockwell’s first associate. Emily has nearly 15 years of experience in sales and account management.

Emily started her career as an account executive at Tricycle in 2006, a company helping reduce waste in the carpet industry. It was here that Emily met Jim, an investor and advisor at the company. Within a few years Jim recruited Emily to join his latest adventure, now known as Sockwell.

As the company’s first associate, Emily did whatever was needed to move the business forward. Ten years later, she manages and supports the company’s team of nearly 25 sales representatives and distributors, while building strong relationships with the companies fast growing account base.

Emily is a graduate of Covenant College where she earned Bachelor of Business in Sociology.

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