Jennifer Fleiss is an American

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and co-founder of Rent the Runway, a company focused on the renting of high-end clothing and accessories.Moore, Booth
"Rent the Runway heads to Vegas' Cosmopolitan in time for New Year's"
"Los Angeles Times", December 17, 2013

Early life and education

Fleiss grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

with a BA in Political Science in 2005. She later attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, where she met the future co-founder of Rent the Runway, Jennifer Hyman, and graduated with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 2009.

Career

Fleiss co-founded Rent the Runway with Jennifer Hyman in 2008. She served as head of business development and as a member of the firm's Board of Directors. She assisted with company-wide infrastructure, project planning, and logistical decisions. Fleiss started her career crafting long-term company strategy in the Strategic Planning Group at

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

. She then moved on to

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

’ Asset Management Group, where she was responsible for analyzing business growth opportunities through acquisitions, international expansion, and new product strategies. In 2017, Fleiss left Rent the Runway to co-founded Jetblack, a text-based concierge shopping service, with Mark Lore, also the co-founder of Jet.com. In 2021, Fleiss joined Volition Capital.

Awards and honors

Fleiss has received various honors and recognitions, including Fortune’s “40 Under 40” and “Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs”;

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

’s “Disruptors 2013”; Inc.’s “30 Under 30”;

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

’s “Most Influential Women in Technology”;

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” New York Area Regional finalist; and Fashionista.com's “Most Influential People in New York Fashion.”Sherman, Lauren
"Fashionista 50: The Most Influential People in New York Fashion"
"Fashionista", February 8, 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleiss, Jennifer American chief executives of fashion industry companies American women chief executives American technology chief executives Harvard Business School alumni Yale University alumni American women company founders American company founders Living people American retail chief executives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women