Emma Grede is a British businesswoman, entrepreneur and fashion designer. She is the CEO and co-founder of the denim company Good American, a founding partner of

Skims Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (Urdu: ), often abbreviated as SKIMS, is the largest medical Institute under State Legislature Act in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. SKIMS is the only medical university of the un ...

, and co-founder of Safely.

Early life

Grede was born and raised in

East London, England East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. She is the daughter of Jenny-Lee Findlay, an English mother who worked for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

; and a Jamaican and Trinidadian father. She has three younger sisters Charlotte, Rachelle, and Katie-Beth. She was raised by her mother in the Plaistow neighborhood of London. She studied business at the

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therap ...

. After securing an internship at

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

she dropped out of college.

Career

After initially working as a producer at fashion show and events company Inca Productions, in 2008 Grede founded and was CEO of Independent Talent Brand (ITB) Worldwide, a London-based talent management and entertainment marketing agency In 2018, ITB was acquired by

Rogers & Cowan Rogers & Cowan is a global marketing and public relations agency. A division of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), the company is based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Miami, and London. History Rogers & Cowan was foun ...

, and Grede exited the company. Around 2015, Grede proposed an idea for a denim company to

Kris Jenner Kristen Mary Jenner ( Houghton , formerly Kardashian; born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (2007� ...

, explaining that she wanted to partner with Jenner's daughter

Khloé Kardashian Khloé Alexandra Kardashian (; born June 27, 1984) is an American media personality and socialite. Since 2007, she has starred with her family in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success has led to the cre ...

. Grede and Kardashian launched Good American in 2016, as a women's clothing company focused on size inclusivity and body positivity, with Grede as CEO. The company expanded from strictly selling denim jeans to include dresses, activewear, tops, swimwear, sleepwear, and shoes in its line. They also created the size 15 to accommodate more body types. Grede is a founding partner of

, a shapewear brand founded by her husband Jens Grede and

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

in 2019. Grede is the company's chief product officer. Along with Kris Jenner and

Chrissy Teigen Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary co ...

, Grede is the founder of Safely, a brand of plant-based cleaning and self-care products that was launched in March 2021. Grede is a guest shark on the first episode of season 13 and the fourteenth episode of season 14 of the reality television series ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...

''. She is the first black woman on the show. She is chairwoman of the

15 Percent Pledge The 15 Percent Pledge is a US-based non-profit organization that encourages retailers to pledge at least 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses. The foundation conducts audits, shares its database of Black-owned businesses, a ...

, an initiative for retailers to reserve 15% of their shelf space for Black-owned businesses.

Personal life

Grede is married to Jens Grede, the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

co-founder of Skims and denim brand, Frame. They moved to Los Angeles in 2017. They have four children: Grey, Lola, and twins Lake and Rafferty.

Awards and Recognitions

On November 2022, Emma along with her husband Jens Grede and Kim Kardashian won the first 'Innovation Award' presented by Amazon Fashion for Skims at the CFDA Awards in New York.

References

1982 births Living people Businesspeople from London British women chief executives English businesspeople in fashion Black British fashion people Alumni of the London College of Fashion British people of Jamaican descent British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent {{UK-business-bio-stub