Les Wexner

Leslie "Les" H. Wexner (born September 8, 1937) is an American businessman. He is chairman and CEO of the L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) corporation.

Early life

Wexner was born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Dayton, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University, majoring in business administration. He became a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He briefly attended law school, but left to help his parents run their store in a suburban Columbus, Ohio, shopping center.

Career

In 1963, Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt to start The Limited (so named because the store focused on clothing for younger women, unlike his parents' general merchandise store). The Limited opened its first store in the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. Wexner's parents closed their store one year later and joined their son at The Limited. Wexner took Limited Brands public in 1969, listed as LTD on the NYSE. Wexner is the longest serving CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Over the years he built a retailing and marketing conglomerate, which currently includes: Victoria's Secret, Pink (Victoria's Secret), Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, C. O. Bigelow, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza. Previous brands that have spun off include: Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner New York, The Limited Too (now Tween Brands, Inc.), Structure 9, Aura Science, The Limited (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Sun Capital Investments, made official as of August 3, 2007), Express (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Golden Gate Capital, made official as of July 6, 2007). Allegations have been made that Wexner's The Limited Inc. has used slave labor both in the United States and abroad. These charges have been made particularly against Victoria's Secret which is part of The Limited Inc. and owned by Wexner.

L Brands

L Brands Inc. (formerly known as Limited Brands Inc and The Limited Inc.) is an American fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio.

Its flagship brands include Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. L Brands posted $10.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and was listed as #258 in the 2013 Fortune 500 list of top companies.

History

Early history

In 1912, Bella Cabakoff emigrated with her parents from Russia to Columbus, Ohio, to escape persecution. At age 21, she became the youngest buyer for the Lazarus department store chain. However, after spending over 20 years with Lazarus, in 1951 she and her husband Harry Wexner opened a women's clothing store named Leslie's (after their son) on State Street. This store became the training ground for Leslie "Les" Wexner. In 1963, he borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and $5,000 from the bank and opened a store at the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio. This store was named "The Limited" because the store focused on clothing for younger women, unlike his parents' general merchandise store. Later in 1964, Bella and Harry closed their store to join their son in his venture.

Caroline Glick

Caroline Glick (born 1969) is an American-born Israeli journalist, newspaper editor, and writer. She writes for Makor Rishon and is the deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post. She is also the Senior Fellow for Middle East Affairs of the Washington, DC-based Center for Security Policy.

Early life and education

Glick was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood. She graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Career

Glick immigrated to Israel in 1991 and joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). She worked in the IDF's Judge Advocate General division during the First Intifada in 1992, and while there edited and co-authored an IDF-published book, Israel, the Intifada and the Rule of Law. Following the Oslo Accords, she worked as coordinator of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. She retired from the military with the rank of captain at the end of 1996. She then worked for about a year as the assistant to the director general of the Israel Antiquities Authority. She served as assistant foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Glick returned to the US to earn a Master of Arts in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 2000.