LAURA ALBER loves Williams Sonoma. Like, really loves it. Sure, many Fortune 500 CEOs would say the same of their companies. But Alber's devotion to the $8.7-billion-inrevenue home furnishings retailer from growing its global business to studying French porcelain borders on fanaticism. "It's my heart," she says. In fact, she likens it to a spouse. When asked if she would ever consider another CEO job, she quickly answers no. "I'm not looking for a different husband either," she said to laughs at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in October.
In fact, Alber's 13-year tenure as Williams Sonoma CEO has outlasted many marriages. She's now the longest-serving female chief executive in the Fortune 500.
The Gap Inc. alum joined San Francisco-based Williams Sonoma in 1995 as a senior buyer for its Pottery Barn brand. She got the top job in 2010. At 42 years old, she became only the fourth CEO of the now 67-year-old retailer named after founder Chuck Williams and the location of its first store, Sonoma, Calif.
Since then, Alber has grown topline revenue at the retailer by $5 billion. She's capitalized on its advanced e-commerce operations and leaned into its well-defined aspirational aesthetic. The release of Williams Sonoma's over-the-top holiday catalog has become a tradition akin to Starbucks' red cups-as has the internet's subsequent hater's guide, a satire of the catalog that's made it all the more famous. (This year's potential wish list items include a $1,499 faux Christmas tree.)
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2023 - January 2024-Ausgabe von Fortune US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2023 - January 2024-Ausgabe von Fortune US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Inside the Cult of Costco
The retailer's hundreds of warehouse stores are overstuffed and overwhelming-and that's all by design. We delve into the method behind the madness that turns shoppers into obsessives.
A Disastrous Hack
The health care industry is still recovering from a cyberattack that shut down insurance payments and stole a third of Americans' health data.
The Death of the American Pharmacy
Bartell's, a beloved Seattle drugstore now owned by debt-laden Rite Aid, is closing many of its locations. Its demise is the latest symptom of a national health care crisis that hurts all of us.
The Vigilance of Satya Nadella
Ten years in as CEO, Nadella has turned Microsoft into the world's most valuable company and one of the top players in Al. He's navigated two sweeping tech transformations. His biggest worry is that he won't see the next one coming.
Walmart's Mr. Fix-It
When Doug McMillon became CEO in 2014, Walmart's sales had stagnated, and customers were defecting to Amazon in droves. Over the next 10 years, he built an e-commerce powerhouse-and extended Walmart's ironfisted hold on the Fortune 500's No. 1 spot. Can McMillon and the big-box giant stay on top in a digital age?
A 70-Year Journey in the Fortune 500 Time Machine
The 1955 list, our first-ever ranking of U.S. companies by revenue, reveals a lot about how American business once saw itself. It also shows how dramatically the economy and the list have changed.
TRAVEL BLURRING THE LINES OF FITNESS AND LUXURY AMID THE SCI-FI GLITZ OF DUBAI
GO ON VACATION.
INVEST AVIATION STOCKS ARE A BARGAIN.ARE THEY WORTH THE TURBULENCE?
IN RECENT MONTHS, Boeing's share price has fallen almost as fast as its aircraft parts have tumbled from the sky.
HEALTH THE BEST GAME PLAN FOR YOUR BRAIN AS YOU AGE
SIXTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD founder Marie Jerusalem has never felt more able to adapt to the changing demands of the corporate world. \"My body's not as agile as it used to be, but mentally I'm stronger today than I've probably ever been in my entire career,\" she tells Fortune.
TECH SILICON VALLEY STARTUPS ARE INVADING THE MILITARY MARKET
AT THE END of February 2022-a few days after cofounders Luke Allen and Steven Simoni sold their 90-person restaurant-tech startup to DoorDash― Russia invaded Ukraine.