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Jennifer Hyman

Jennifer Hyman is an American businesswoman who is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rent the Runway, a company focused on the renting of high-end clothing and accessories.

Early life and education

Jennifer Hyman grew up in New Rochelle, New York, and attended New Rochelle High School. She received her BA in social sciences from Harvard University in 2002.[1]

Hyman later attended Harvard Business School, where she met co-founder of Rent the Runway Jennifer Fleiss, and graduated with an MBA in 2009.[2]

Career

In November 2008, Hyman first had the idea for Rent the Runway after witnessing her sister agonize over and drop thousands of dollars on a dress for a wedding, only to wear it once.[3] Hyman co-founded Rent the Runway in 2009.

A highlight in Hyman's career was taking the company public as the 30th women ever to take her company public in history, and being a part of the first company to go public with a female founder/CEO, COO, and CFO.[4]

Prior to the founding of Rent the Runway, Jennifer ran an online advertising sales team for weddingchannel.com and worked as an in-house entrepreneur for the Starwood Hotel where she was responsible for creating the hotel’s first wedding business. Following that, she served as the director of business development for IMG’s fashion division.[5]

Hyman participates in national conferences and panel discussions regarding topics covering the economy, women in business and company culture. Some of her past speaking engagements include NRF Foundation's "Retail’s Big Show"[6] WWD's Digital Forum[7] and the 99U Conference.[8]

Hyman has spoken out publicly against sexual harassment in the tech industry and went public with her own experience on CNBC's Squawk Alley in July 2017.[9]

Hyman serves on the Board of Directors of the Estée Lauder Companies,[10] and on the Women.nyc Advisory Board.[11]

Personal life

Hyman met her husband, Benjamin Stauffer, a television and film editor, on the dating app Hinge. They were married in January 2018.[12]

Awards and recognition

  • Fortune magazine's 40 Under 40 in 2012[13]
  • Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2019[14]
  • People Magazine's 2020 Women Changing the World[15]

External links

References

  1. HuffPost HuffPost, retrieved 2017-10-13^
  2. Michelle Persad. How Two Harvard Grads Made It Possible To Rent The Runway The Huffington Post, 2015-12-16, retrieved 2019-12-06^
  3. Jenna Wortham. A Netflix Model For Haute Couture The New York Times, 2009-11-09, retrieved 2019-12-06^
  4. How Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman Built a 'Willy Wonka Land of Fashion' ELLE, 2022-09-30, retrieved 2022-12-05^
  5. Jennifer Hyman The Business of Fashion, 11 November 2022, retrieved 2023-11-10^
  6. Davis, Ellen, "In their own words: Highlights from Retail's BIG Show Student Program 2013", "Retail's BIG Blog", February 19, 2013^
  7. Steigrad, Alexandra, "Making the Right Impression", "WWD", February 14, 2013^
  8. "Neil Blumenthal & Jenn Hyman: Why Transparency & Openness Wins", "99U"^
  9. Anita Balakrishnan. This start-up CEO says she was harassed — and she's calling on VCs to fix the problem in tech CNBC, 2017-07-17, retrieved 2017-10-19^
  10. Board of Directors www.elcompanies.com, retrieved 2019-04-25^
  11. New women.nyc advisory board enlists dynamic NYC leaders to further women's economic advancement women.nyc, retrieved 2019-04-25^
  12. Katharina Haude. "She kisses her late husband" = "She kissed her husband": nominal tense in Movima Rara & Rarissima, DE GRUYTER MOUTON, 2010-12-13, retrieved 2023-11-10^
  13. "40 Under 40", "Fortune", October 17, 2012^
  14. Jennifer Hyman: The 100 Most Influential People of 2019 TIME, retrieved 2020-09-22^
  15. Rent the Runway Founder Jennifer Hyman Says Inventory Snafus Last Fall Were 'Humbling' Peoplemag, retrieved 2023-11-18^