Sonia Syngal is an American businesswoman who formerly served as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of Gap, Inc., the largest specialty apparel company in the U.S.

Early life and education

Syngal was born to Sushma and Satya Syngal in India, before her family moved to Canada at a young age. She later moved to the United States where she got her bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University in 1993. and her Master's in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1995.

Career

Syngal has held roles in several Fortune 500 companies, including 10 years at

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...

, where she led manufacturing operations, logistics and supply chain management, and six years at Ford Motor Co., where she held roles in product design, quality and manufacturing engineering. Syngal joined Gap Inc. in 2004 and has served in a number of leadership roles, including managing director for the company's Europe business, senior vice president for Gap Inc.'s International division and International Outlet division. She was executive vice president of global supply chain and product operations, responsible for managing Gap Inc.’s global supply chain and redefining its product-to-market model for its portfolio of brands. From 2016 to 2020 Syngal led Gap Inc.'s largest brand,

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, San Francisco, Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of t ...

. Under her tenure, the brand grew from $7B to $8B in sales, expanded it
North American
presence to more than 1,200 stores, scaled its ecommerce site to the no. 4 largest apparel site in the U.S., and built competitive omni-channel capabilities. She was named CEO of Gap Inc. in March 2020. She led the company’s portfolio of lifestyle brands including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta, across all geographies and channels, with a team of more than 100,000 employees. At the time of her appointment as CEO in March 2020, Syngal was one of 37 women CEOs at Fortune 500 companies, and one of only three women CEOs of color. Syngal has also served as a Steering Committee member of the Fashion Pact, a global coalition of companies in the fashion and textile industry committed to core environmental goals in three areas: stopping global warming, restoring biodiversity, and protecting the oceans. Syngal stepped down from her CEO position and from Gap Inc.'s Board on July 11, 2022.

Philanthropy

Syngal is a member of the

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, has i ...

.Board of Governors
and serves o
The Gap Foundation
Board of Trustees.

Accolades

I
2021
an
2020
FORTUNE named Syngal to "Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business” and i
2019
FORTUNE named Syngal among the "Top 10 Women to Watch" in its Most Powerful Women issue.

Personal life

Syngal is married to Joe McGrath. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syngal, Sonia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American chief executives of fashion industry companies American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies American retail chief executives American women chief executives Canadian retail chief executives Canadian women business executives Indian emigrants to Canada Indian emigrants to the United States Kettering University alumni Stanford University alumni Gap Inc. people 21st-century American women