Michelle Gass

Education and career

Michelle Gass started her career at Procter and Gamble in 1990, working in product development after earning a chemical engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute that same year. She later added an MBA from the University of Washington. In 1996, she joined Starbucks as manager of its Frappuccino blended iced coffee brand, where she was credited with turning Frappuccino into a $2 billion business. She also worked on growing Starbucks' Seattle's Best brand (now owned by Nestlé) and later led the company's European expansion as its EMEA president.

In 2013, Gass moved to Kohl's as chief customer officer, became chief merchandising and customer officer in 2015, was named CEO-elect in 2017, and officially became CEO in May 2018. That year, Fortune named her to its list of most powerful women and its Businessperson of the Year list. In 2019, the National Retail Federation gave her its Visionary 2020 award, and she was elected to PepsiCo's board of directors. She stepped down as Kohl's CEO in early December 2022 to become CEO-in-waiting at Levi Strauss & Co., served as president of the Levi's brand for one year, and became CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. in early 2024.

In May 2025, she delivered the undergraduate commencement address at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she received an honorary doctorate. Gass is also a member of The Business Council.

Did You Know?

• Gass was named to Fortune's 2018 Businessperson of the Year list and its list of most powerful women that same year.
• She married Scott Gass on August 20, 1994, and they have two children.