Jennifer Hyman is the CEO and co-founder of Rent the Runway, a company focused on the renting of high-end clothing and accessories.

Jennifer Hyman
Hyman (2015)
BornAugust 24th, 1980
EducationHarvard University (BA, MBA)
Occupation(s)Cofounder and CEO, Rent The Runway

Early life and education

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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]

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

Hyman met her husband, Benjamin Stauffer, a television and film editor, on the dating app Hinge. They were married in January 2018.[3]

Career

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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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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"[7] WWD's Digital Forum[8] and the 99U Conference.[9]

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.[10]

Hyman serves on the Board of Directors of the Estée Lauder Companies,[11] and on the Women.nyc Advisory Board.[12]

Honors

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  • 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]

References

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  1. ^ "HuffPost". HuffPost. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  2. ^ Persad, Michelle (2015-12-16). "How Two Harvard Grads Made It Possible To Rent The Runway". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  3. ^ Haude, Katharina (2010-12-13), ""She kisses her late husband" = "She kissed her husband": nominal tense in Movima", Rara & Rarissima, DE GRUYTER MOUTON, pp. 95–116, doi:10.1515/9783110228557.95, ISBN 978-3-11-022854-0, retrieved 2023-11-10
  4. ^ Wortham, Jenna (2009-11-09). "A Netflix Model For Haute Couture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  5. ^ "How Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman Built a 'Willy Wonka Land of Fashion'". ELLE. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  6. ^ "Jennifer Hyman | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry". The Business of Fashion. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  7. ^ Davis, Ellen, "In their own words: Highlights from Retail's BIG Show Student Program 2013" Archived 2013-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, "Retail's BIG Blog", February 19, 2013
  8. ^ Steigrad, Alexandra, "Making the Right Impression", "WWD", February 14, 2013
  9. ^ "Neil Blumenthal & Jenn Hyman: Why Transparency & Openness Wins", "99U"
  10. ^ Balakrishnan, Anita (2017-07-17). "This start-up CEO says she was harassed — and she's calling on VCs to fix the problem in tech". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  11. ^ "Board of Directors". www.elcompanies.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  12. ^ "New women.nyc advisory board enlists dynamic NYC leaders to further women's economic advancement". women.nyc. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  13. ^ "40 Under 40", "Fortune", October 17, 2012 Archived October 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  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.
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