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Michelle Gass

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Michelle Gass
Born1968 (age 55–56)
Maine, United States
Education
TitleCEO of Levi Strauss & Co.
Spouse
Scott Gass
​
(m. 1994)​
Children2

Michelle D. Gass (Petkers) (born 1968[1][2]) is an American businesswoman who serves as the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.[3] She previously served as CEO of department store Kohl's.[4]

Education and career

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Gass earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1990[5][6] and an MBA from the University of Washington.[7]

She joined consumer goods company Procter and Gamble in 1990, where she worked in product development, before moving to Starbucks in 1996 as manager of its Frappuccino blended iced coffee brand.[8] At Starbucks, she was credited with turning Frappuccino into a $2 billion business, and her other company work included growing the company's Seattle's Best brand, now owned by Nestlé, and later led the retailer's expansion in Europe as Starbucks' EMEA president.[9]

In 2013, Gass joined department store Kohl's as chief customer officer, and in 2015 became the company's chief merchandising and customer officer.[10] In 2017, she was promoted to be the CEO-elect.[11] In May 2018, Gass officially became Kohl's CEO.[10] In 2018, Gass was named to Fortune magazine's list of most powerful women.[12] She was also named to Fortune's 2018 Businesssperson of the Year list.[13] In 2019, the National Retail Federation named Gass as the recipient of its Visionary 2020 award, awarded to the nation's top retail executive.[14] In 2019, Gass was elected to the board of directors of PepsiCo.[15]

In November 2022, it was announced that Gass would be stepping down as Kohl's CEO by early December to become the CEO-in-waiting for Levi Strauss & Co.[16] After serving for a year as President of the Levi’s brand, she became the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. in early 2024.[3]

Personal life

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Gass was born and raised in a small town in Maine.[17][18] She married Scott Gass on August 20, 1994.[19] They have two children.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Die Nummer zwei im Starbucks-Imperium" [Number two in the Starbucks empire]. Die Welt (in German). October 21, 2012.
  2. ^ Barreira, Alex (November 8, 2022). "What to know about Levi CEO heir apparent Michelle Gass". San Francisco Business Times.
  3. ^ a b Kapner, Suzanne. "Top Job at Levi Strauss Offers Retail Veteran a Second Chance". WSJ.
  4. ^ Berman, Nat (2018-12-29). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass". Money Inc. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  5. ^ Romell, Rick (2017-09-28). "WPI grad to take over as Kohl's CEO". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  6. ^ Comeau, Zachary (2017-09-28). "WPI grad named Kohl's CEO". Worcester Business Journal.
  7. ^ "A khaki library, new brands and Wisconsin nice: How Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass is changing the company". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  8. ^ Goudreau, Jenna. "Starbucks' Secret Weapon". Forbes.
  9. ^ Goudreau, Jenna. "Starbucks' Secret Weapon". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  10. ^ a b Edelson, Sharon (February 1, 2019). "CEO Talks: Kohl's Michelle Gass Makes Waves".
  11. ^ Kuehner-Hebert, Katie (2018-12-31). "Kohl's 'Greatness Agenda' Gains Momentum Under New CEO Michelle Gass". ChiefExecutive.net. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  12. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  13. ^ "Michelle Gass". Fortune.
  14. ^ "NRF to name Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass as The Visionary 2020". www.herbertmines.com.
  15. ^ "PepsiCo Elects Michelle Gass to Board of Directors". www.efanews.eu. March 8, 2019.
  16. ^ Repko, Melissa (8 November 2022). "Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass to step down, join Levi Strauss as CEO in waiting". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  17. ^ Gelles, David (September 10, 2021). "Brick-and-Mortar Retail in the Age of Covid, and Amazon". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Romell, Rick. "A khaki library, new brands and Wisconsin nice: How Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass is changing the company". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  19. ^ "Newsbank". Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram (ME). September 25, 1994. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  20. ^ Kapner, Suzanne (January 26, 2024). "Top Job at Levi Strauss Offers Retail Veteran a Second Chance". The Wall Street Journal.
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