Director since January 2020
Ms. Kaplan is currently the managing member of Axcel Partners, LLC investing in consumer facing early stage and growth companies. Prior to this, Ms. Kaplan was President and Chief Operating Officer at Rent the Runway, a fashion apparel company with a technology soul disrupting the way women get dressed. In her role, she worked closely with the co-founders and oversaw finance, operations, merchandising, customer insights, business development, and retail. Prior to joining Rent the Runway, Ms. Kaplan served as President and Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer, and Director at General Nutrition Centers Inc. where her focus was on key strategic initiatives surrounding the marketing & merchandising of GNC stores, development of an ecommerce platform, and product development. Prior to GNC, Ms. Kaplan served as Executive Vice President and General Manager at Bath & Body Works where she oversaw the merchandising and marketing of the new flagship store format. Within that role she was responsible for the development of the BBW specialty brand program, bringing a variety of high-profile beauty and lifestyle brands to the business. Prior to Bath & Body Works, Ms. Kaplan was the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising at Rite Aid Drugstores, and prior to that spent 16 years at Procter & Gamble, her last role being President and General Manager of the Cosmetics and Fragrance division, including Cover Girl and Max Factor. Ms. Kaplan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been recognized in the industry for her work on a number of occasions including Drugstore Marketer of the Year in 1998 and one of Advertising Age’s Top 10 “Women to Watch” in 1999. She was the 2016 keynote speaker at the Women to Watch event in Baltimore and The Commonwealth Institute event in Miami. In addition to Rent The Runway, Ms. Kaplan is currently a director of the Meredith Corporation and the Howard Hughes Corporation. She is also a director and advisor at Framebridge and Care/of and is a director at Leesa Sleep.