Áslaug Magnúsdóttir is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic businesswoman and entrepreneur. Áslaug is the founder of Katla. She is the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Moda Operandi and a co-founder of TSM Capital. She has been dubbed "fashion's fairy godmother" by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by ''

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 ...

''. A

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

, Áslaug holds 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 ...

from

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 ...

, an

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

Duke University School of Law The Duke University School of Law is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit that began in 1868 as the ...

and a

Candidate of Law Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree from the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

Family and education

Áslaug Magnúsdóttir was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland, to parents Magnús Sigurðsson and Rakel Valdimarsdóttir. She has one brother, Sigurður R. Magnússon. Áslaug grew up in Los Angeles and Reykjavík and attended college at the University of Iceland, where she graduated in 1993 with a degree in law. She received a Fulbright scholarship and returned to the U.S. to attend the LL.M program at Duke University. She then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000, the first Icelandic woman to do so. From 1993–2000, Áslaug was married to Gunnar Thoroddsen, a lawyer and former CEO of

Landsbanki Landsbanki (, ), also commonly known as Landsbankinn (, ) was one of the largest Icelandic commercial banks; it failed as part of the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis when its subsidiary sparked the Icesave dispute. On October 7, 2008, t ...

bank in Luxembourg. Gunnar is the grandson of Iceland's former Prime Minister

Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen (pronounced ) (29 December 1910 – 25 September 1983) was the prime minister of Iceland from 1980 to 1983. Gunnar was the youngest man ever elected to the Althing, Iceland's Parliament. He was 23 years old when he was ele ...

, and the great grandson of Iceland's second President,

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (; 13 May 1894 – 15 September 1972) was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. He also served as the prime minister of Iceland from 3 June 1932 to 28 July 1934 for the Progressive Party. Ásgeir is ...

. Together they have a son, Gunnar A. Thoroddsen, guitar player of Great Grief. From 2005-2015, Áslaug was married to nightclub owner Gabriel Levy. In 2022, she married tech entrepreneur Sacha Tueni. Their son is Ocean Thor Tueni.

Career

Áslaug began her career in Iceland, where as a student she headed a modeling agency and was chairman of the National Ballet Company of Iceland, and then became a corporate and tax attorney at

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

. After completing her graduate studies, she moved to London, where she was an Engagement Manager at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

Fashion career

Áslaug first became involved in the fashion industry while helping to run a modeling agency during college. She started her professional career in fashion at

Baugur Group Baugur Group (; Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic investment company. The group began as a supermarket and general retail company in Iceland, before diversifying to own a number of businesses at its peak, primarily in the United Kingdom. Baugur was ...

, an investment company focused on the fashion and retail sectors. During her time at Baugur, Aslaug spearheaded a number of investments in early-stage fashion brands. In 2006, Áslaug relocated from London to New York and joined

Marvin Traub Marvin Traub (May 14, 1925 – July 11, 2012) was an American businessman and writer. He was a prominent business executive in the retail sector known for his impact on merchandising and marketing. Traub was CEO and President of Bloomingdale's f ...

Associates as a Vice President. In 2007, she partnered with Traub, the former CEO of

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

, to form an investment company, TSM Capital, which invested in designer brands such as Rachel Roy and Matthew Williamson. She later worked with actor and jewelry designer Waris Ahluwalia as President of his label, House of Waris Fine Jewelry. In 2009, Áslaug joined

Gilt Groupe Gilt Groupe is an American online shopping site launched in 2007. In 2016 the company was sold to Hudson's Bay Company for approximately $250 million, which was less than the $268 million taken from investors. Prior to the Hudson's Bay acquisiti ...

to head merchandising for Gilt Noir. In 2009, Áslaug came up with the idea for Moda Operandi, a " pre-tailer" that lets consumers pre-order items directly from the runway. She shared the concept with

Lauren Santo Domingo Lauren Santo Domingo (née Davis; born February 28, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, magazine editor, and socialite. She is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of online fashion retailer Moda Operandi. Early life Santo Domingo, the daught ...

, and, together, they co-founded the company. Áslaug left Moda Operandi in May 2013 after raising $36 million in a Series C round of funding from venture capital firms. With Matthew Pavelle, Gabriel Levy and Cleo Davis-Urman, she co-founded Tinker Tailor, a business that let consumers customize designer clothing or design their own. Tinker Tailor ceased operations in 2015. In 2020, Áslaug launched Katla, a business focused on sustainable practices in the fashion industry. In 2022, Áslaug was named Goodwill Ambassador for Fashion 4 Development, an organization established to support the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

in cooperation with the office of the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

Awards and recognitions

* Fashion 4 Development Goodwill Ambassador in 2022 * Fashion 4 Development Award in 2022 * One of the BOF 500 in 2014 – ''

The Business of Fashion Imran Amed (born April 20, 1975) is a Canadian British, Canadian-British fashion media entrepreneur. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the website ''The Business of Fashion''. Early life Amed was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. He ...

'' * One To World 2014 Fulbright Award for Outstanding Achievement * One of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2012 – ''Fast Company''. * Among the 10 Game Changers of 2012 –

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

* Among the Next Establishment in 2012 – ''Vanity Fair'' * Fashinvest Award 2012 – Fashinvest * One of Fashion's 100 Most Influential 2006 – '' Drapers''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnusdottir, Aslaug Aslaug Magnusdottir Businesspeople in online retailing Harvard Business School alumni Living people Aslaug Magnusdottir Duke University School of Law alumni Women business executives McKinsey & Company people Aslaug Magnusdottir Year of birth missing (living people) Aslaug Magnusdottir