Joanna Griffiths (born 1984) is a Canadian entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Knix Wear, a women's undergarment brand.

Career

Griffiths attended Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

, graduating with a commerce degree. Griffiths began her career as a publicist for

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, before attending

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

in France. She graduated with her MBA in 2012. The next year, Griffiths launched Knix with leak-proof underwear. The company began selling wholesale, with Hudson's Bay being her brand's first retail partner, but in 2016, Griffiths pulled out of over 700 North American retail spaces to focus on direct-to-consumer sales. During the pandemic, she decided to expand the company and take on outside capital. She experienced criticism from some investors who questioned her ability to lead her company while pregnant, and refused to accept money from any potential investors who doubted her. She raised $53 million in March 2021, closing the funding round three days before giving birth to twins girls.As of January 2022, Griffiths has opened up six brick-and-mortar Knix stores across North America. In November 2021, Griffiths, along with singer and doula

Domino Kirke Domino Suzy Kirke-Badgley (born 17 December 1983) is a British-American singer, doula, and actress. Life and career Kirke is of English and Iraqi-Jewish heritage. She was named after Domino Harvey, whom her mother met when Harvey was a young g ...

, released ''Life After Birth: Portraits of Love and the Beauty of Parenthood'', a book about the experiences of postpartum mothers featuring stories from parents like Ashley Graham and Amy Schumer. Ahead of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, in February 2022, Griffiths and Ashley Graham released ''Big. Strong. Woman.'' at the

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

Challenger Brands Summit, a film focused on combating female stereotypes and highlighting female strength. In April 2022, Knix and

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending in a split at the ...

collaborated to create a collection of intimates.

Philanthropy

Griffiths pledged $100,000 to Black Lives Matter in 2020, and also started a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

to raise money to supply

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

to Canadian hospitals. Griffiths also partnered her brand with the

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, pronounced , french: Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale) is a psychiatric teaching hospital located in Toronto and ten community locations throughout the province of Ontario, Canada. It re ...

, providing wire-free bras to female patients.

Awards and accolades

In 2018, Griffiths was named Women of Influence's Entrepreneur of the Year, and has also received the

Retail Council of Canada The Retail Council of Canada (french: Conseil canadien du commerce de détail), founded in 1963, is a not-for-profit trade association representing retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, ...

's Marketing Innovation Award. She is the winner of RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Start-Up Award. Knix was named the sixth fastest growing company of Canada, and also was recognized as

Strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

magazine's 2020 Brand of the Year. Griffiths is a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 Ontario.

References

{{Reflist 1980s births Canadian women in business Women chief executives Women founders