Cynthia Harriss is an American

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and th ...

and

tourism industry Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

executive, notable for her senior roles with

Gap Inc. The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap (stylized as GAP), is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The c ...

and

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

Biography

Early life and career

Harriss was born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and received a bachelor's degree from

St. Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Harriss then spent 19 years in a variety of marketing and operations roles at the

Paul Harris Stores Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

, a women's clothing chain.

The Walt Disney Company

Harriss joined the Walt Disney Company in 1992 and held a variety of senior positions, including senior vice president of park operations at Disneyland, and senior vice president of stores for the

Disney Store The Disney Store is a chain of specialty stores selling only Disney related items, many of them exclusive, under its own name and Disney Outlet. It was a business unit of Disney Consumer Products with the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products se ...

chain. Harriss also served as president of

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks ( ...

, where she managed the

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

and Disney California Adventure Park theme parks, as well as the resort's hotels and retail operations. In 2000, Harriss received the Tree of Life Award for outstanding

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always perform ...

from the Jewish National Fund.

Gap Inc.

From February 2004 until May 2005, Harriss served as president of Gap Inc.'s Outlet division. In this role, Harriss oversaw Gap Inc.'s three outlet chains: Banana Republic Factory Stores, Gap Outlet and

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

Outlet. Harriss was then appointed president of Gap Inc.'s namesake chain of apparel stores, overseeing the Gap brand's operations, including its adult line as well as the brand's GapKids, babyGap and gapbody businesses. She resigned from this position in February 2007. Marka Hansen, former president of Gap Inc.'s

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

brand, succeeded Harriss as president.Company press release, 01 February 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriss, Cynthia Living people American Jews Year of birth missing (living people) Disney executives People from Indiana