There was a time when the words CEO and fashionista seemed incompatible. But consider this. Forbes contributor Leah Bourne just wrote an article asking “Is Marissa Mayer the New Face of Workplace Fashion?” And that’s not a horrible assessment. As the new CEO of Yahoo, Mayer has a weakness for Oscar de la Renta. She once paid $60,000 at a charity event in order to have lunch with the award-winning designer, known, among other things, to have dressed Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1960s.
CEO or not, if you’re worth $300 million (or more), why shouldn’t you dabble in high fashion? Workplace style tends to spend a lot of time in conservative-land, so it’s nice to see business tycoons with a flair for color, detail, and handbags that cost more than a surrogate mother.
Here are 7 of the best dressed female CEOs. Not only are their closets filled with designer clothes, I’m sure they are bigger than my apartment and have actual furniture inside. You know, furniture in your closet so you can sit in a high-backed chair while you decide which Carolina Hererra gown to wear to the gala tonight.
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1. Andrea Jung, Executive Chairman and former CEO of Avon Products, Inc.
Jung’s resume includes Executive Vice President of Neiman Marcus and General Merchandising Manager for I.Magnin. She’s on the board of directors for both General Electric and Apple. In 2009, Forbes ranked her as one of the 25 most powerful women. Her mother is a Shanghai-born amateur pianist and her ex-husband, Michael Gould, is the CEO of Bloomingdale’s. Basically, I want her to attend my next dinner party.
2. Oprah Winfrey, CEO of Harpo Productions, CEO and CCO of the Oprah Winfrey Network
What can you even say about Oprah Winfrey that hasn’t already been said? Her net worth is an estimated $2.7 billion, and she may or may not be the most influential woman in the world. She is always immaculately styled from head to toe, whether she’s sporting a size 16 or a size 8. Forget Gayle King, I want to be Oprah’s best friend.
3. Christine LaGarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
LaGarde was born in Paris to a family of academics. Before becoming the first woman to ever head the IMF, she held various ministerial posts in the French government including Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry, and Minister of Agriculture and Fishing. She rocks a silver crop of hair that’s easily more stunning than Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.
4. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
In June of 2012 Sandberg became the first woman to ever serve on Facebook’s board. Her resume includes Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations for Google and Chief of Staff for the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2012 she was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She also knows how to pull off a red dress in a way that makes me super jealous.
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5. Bethenny Frankel, Founder and former CCO of Skinnygirl Cocktails
You may only know her from The Real Housewives of New York City, but Frankel is quickly becoming a business tycoon. She sold Skinnygirl Cocktails to Beam Global for millions in 2011 (the exact number is hotly disputed), and is now hosting her own day-time talk show, Bethenny. Frankel’s come a long way from reality stardom; but whether she’s having a catfight with Countess LuAnn de Lesseps or smiling on the cover of her latest book, her style is spectacular.
6. Tory Burch, CEO of Tory Burch, LLC
Burch began her fashion label in 2004 with a boutique at 257 Elizabeth Street in Nolita, an up-and-coming neighborhood in Manhattan. It was quickly endorsed by Oprah Winfrey (which is, like, the best thing that could ever happen to an entrepreneur). In 2008 she won Accessories Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and it’s possible that every woman in New York owns at least one pair of Tory Burch flats with that signature medallion. Today she has 68 stores worldwide. Another interesting fact: Burch’s father is said to have dated Grace Kelley.
7. Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx
What woman doesn’t love shapewear? I give Spanx to friends as birthday presents and they don’t even feign embarrassment. For Blakely, the idea for Spanx arose when she couldn’t find a good pair of pantyhose without seamed toes. She invested her life-savings in the company, and because she couldn’t afford a lawyer to trademark the Spanx name, learned how to do it herself with a textbook. Blakely is 41 years-old, making her the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. She may not be the company’s CEO, but she gets a shout-out because she turned $5,000 into $1 billion dollars all by herself. And she looked good doing it.
via:thegrindstone