Jennifer Fleiss is an American businessperson and co-founder of

Rent the Runway Rent the Runway is an e-commerce platform that allows users to rent, subscribe, or buy designer apparel and accessories. It was founded by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, who launched the company in November 2009. History In 2007, Hyman ...

, a company focused on the renting of high-end clothing and accessories.Moore, Booth
"Rent the Runway heads to Vegas' Cosmopolitan in time for New Year's"
"Los Angeles Times", December 17, 2013

Early life and education

Fleiss grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She graduated '' cum laude'' from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

with a BA in Political Science in 2005. She later attended Harvard Business School, where she met the future co-founder of

, Jennifer Hyman, and graduated with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 2009.

Career

Fleiss co-founded Rent the Runway with Jennifer Hyman in 2008. She served as head of business development and as a member of the firm's Board of Directors. She assisted with company-wide infrastructure, project planning, and logistical decisions. Fleiss started her career crafting long-term company strategy in the Strategic Planning Group at

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 ...

. She then moved on to

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

’ Asset Management Group, where she was responsible for analyzing business growth opportunities through acquisitions, international expansion, and new product strategies. In 2017, Fleiss left Rent the Runway to co-founded Jetblack, a text-based concierge shopping service, with Mark Lore, also the co-founder of Jet.com. In 2021, Fleiss joined Volition Capital.

Awards and honors

Fleiss has received various honors and recognitions, including Fortune’s “40 Under 40” and “Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs”;

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

’s “Disruptors 2013”; Inc.’s “30 Under 30”;

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

’s “Most Influential Women in Technology”;

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...

’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” New York Area Regional finalist; and Fashionista.com's “Most Influential People in New York Fashion.”Sherman, Lauren
"Fashionista 50: The Most Influential People in New York Fashion"
"Fashionista", February 8, 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleiss, Jennifer American chief executives of fashion industry companies American women chief executives American technology chief executives Harvard Business School alumni Yale University alumni American women company founders American company founders Living people American retail chief executives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women