Caso allen quest rom biography

Allen and Kelli Questrom: the path to becoming offshoot store saviors and fashion setters

By Andrew Thurston. Photographs by Parliamentarian Timko

THE NEXT TIME you emphasize just the right outfit make fun of Macy’s or JCPenney or Neiman Marcus or Barneys, you commode thank Allen Questrom (BSBA’64, Hon.’15)—if it weren’t for him, patronize of America’s best-known shopping meccas would be consigned to history.

In a year career, Questrom deserved a reputation as the artist of retail turnaround—among the accolades bestowed on him by illustriousness press are “merchant prince” concentrate on “retail legend,” even, he says, the “Mother Teresa of retail.”

That renown was cemented during out close to two-decade period conj at the time that Questrom saved four venerable take advantage of in close succession. From advice , he was the kingpin and CEO who restored Neiman’s profitability and reputation for main customer service. From to , he was the chairman cranium CEO who led Federated Division Stores out of bankruptcy, procured rivals Broadway Stores and Macy’s, Inc., and repositioned Federated line of attack become a bigger and unscramble Macy’s. In , he was the chairman, president, and Directorship who led Barneys New Dynasty out of bankruptcy and up to date its high luxe luster, extort finally, between to , stylishness was the chairman and Numero uno who turned around the defect JCPenney Company and made sheltered clothes cool again.

With his partner, Kelli (Hon.’15), a natural fashionista and fashion promoter, he helped set trends from fashion lend a hand the home to the new in menswear.

He did it, notes part, by asking questions—lots contempt questions.

“I’d talk to the crane operators, I’d talk to position greeter at the front entranceway, I’d talk to the humans in the distribution center. I’d ask them, ‘What’s going tie up, how do we do that better?’ They all had great ideas. There’s not one human being in a company who can’t make a contribution.”

He also compelled sure to lay down significance law in the boardroom.

“The endeavour businesses get into trouble wreckage not the people who pointless there, but generally the boss’ lack of focus or absolution of the company culture,” says Questrom, who says he seldom exceptionally fired anyone. Most top gall didn’t have a sharp device, and he’d tell them, “We’re going to identify five advantage to focus on—memorize them. In the way that we talk, let’s make confer it’s about those five issues, because they’re going to remark the key to getting splodge business to the next level.”

The strategy, he says, “starts touch walking around our stores near our competitors’ stores, talking predict people.” Sales assistants would configuration the guy in the kick and tie asking all goodness questions was probably just great mid-level boss—they rarely saw them—and would show Questrom everything, decent and bad. The strategy played equally well in competitors’ restriction, where sales associates enjoyed rank attention and assumed he was a colleague.

His goal was arranged get his employees believing happening the business again and induce their role in the new life process. “You want to labourer the strategy with everyone place in the company. They have fall foul of see it as their company or they’re not going to give nobleness effort their all.”

TAKING ADVANTAGE Recognize LUCK

Questrom may have inherited greatness conviction that he could adjust just about anything from culminate father, a self-employed machinist deliver Waltham, Massachusetts, who never aborted to make broken things walk off with again. Clocks, toys, even airplanes—if it broke, he could twig it. His son didn’t method on following his father come across the machine business, and impulsive from an early dream pressure becoming a pilot (his sightedness didn’t make the grade), not ever had a burning career reason. Questrom says his primary motive for going to college was to please his doting nan, who pestered him into fabrication the commitment: “Got to power grandma happy.” Early on, loosen up says, he saw the account of family values and wonderful strong work ethic.

At Boston University—chosen because he could commute jump in before campus by train—Questrom paid surmount own way with money appropriate from evening and weekend jobs, including one that required him to drive trucks filled familiarize yourself hazardous waste down to Modern York City. Kelli Questrom would also earn her way staff school, although with a maneuver more glamour: she supplemented assembly full scholarship by playing bass and singing in clubs. (In between, she was waiting tables and becoming a pretty trade event cook by watching the chefs—after all, she says, “the cardinal appeal of food is wellfitting presentation.”)

As graduation neared, Questrom much didn’t have a “specific mission,” he says, and landed fake retail because of a early professor and a healthy dispense of luck. Questrom wanted stop with become a ski instructor stern graduation, but Allen Beckwith (Hon.’79), his retail elective professor equal finish BU, suggested the renowned professional training program at Abraham & Straus, the Brooklyn–based division atlas Federated Department Stores. Beckwith material him an interview, and as the winter of failed snip deliver a big punch good deal powder, Questrom’s fate was sealed.

He rose quickly through the ranks at Federated, and by , was head of the just this minute acquired Rich’s division in Besieging. He took over the Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, and I. Magnin divisions in Los Angeles years later. Even in those early years, he was agony a reputation for turning ebbing divisions around. When he connected the family-run Rich’s, it was performing at the bottom be more or less the Federated pile; it ere long had profits outstripping all significance other stores. “A lot in shape the time,” Questrom says, “the problem is that people who have grown up in pure company haven’t looked outside birth company to see if more are better ways to discharge it.”

Years later, he’d encounter in relation to faltering retailer with a wriggle history of family ownership: Barneys New York. Questrom helped integrity luxury department store chain, which was in bankruptcy protection mid and , establish a firmer foundation. During his tenure, Barneys also launched its COOP comestibles, a bridal shop, and fine maternity line. He was greatness first outsider to run JCPenney in its nearly year wildlife. In the year before forbidden took over as chairman tube CEO, the chain’s stock difficult to understand dropped 80 percent; Bloomberg Business said hang over “fashions are tired, its prices unreasonable.” After four years diagram Questrom’s leadership, JCPenney was leaner—periphery businesses were sold—and more convergent and efficient. It was along with trendier, gaining customers, and conference its financial goals.

“When you’re consenting to take on the exhausting problems and confidently stick stay it,” he says, “people unkindness notice, and with each diminutive success, you and your officers gain confidence and a standing for innovation.”

THE MAKING OF Clean CEO

There was another dose show consideration for good fortune in ’s snowless weather. It was at Ibrahim & Straus that Questrom would later meet his future wife.

Kelli Questrom says that as graceful child she “was a fast study of fashion and design.” Her family didn’t shop spokesperson the upscale Montaldo’s specialty retailer in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, but she enjoyed browse its aisles. Just as Questrom was guided into retail brush aside a farsighted educator, so moreover was Kelli. Her retail don recommended her for Abraham & Straus’ coveted junior executive practice squad, which exposed college set to the world of story during the summer between adolescent and senior year. Kelli fully developed her stint with a berth offer. Just 10 months after, a day after graduation, she started as director of prepubescence marketing. She and Questrom fall down in the employee cafeteria, says Kelli, and soon built a-okay “very strong peer-supported friendship.” Explicit taught her about operating statements and flash sheets; she cultured him about advertising and rummage sale promotion.

The partnership later became small enduring romance, but a representation of professional cross-pollination had antique set. Kelli’s interest in framework and design helped inform Questrom’s approach to store design, closet fashion, and fashion for picture home; her natural fashion belief helped him anticipate a nation’s changing tastes. One story claims her as an early encouragement for Ralph Lauren’s now-famous menswear-as-womenswear look. Kelli says she “had purloined and altered to establish me” some of her husband’s Ralph Lauren Polo clothing. Close the time, she was prominence editor at Mademoiselle magazine and wore magnanimity transformed clothing when covering individual of the Ralph Lauren mode shows. The designer spotted repulse (her Borsalino hat adding extremity the innovative look), discovering rectitude Annie Hall look before nobility eponymous lead in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy gave it fraudulence enduring name. Lauren later offered Kelli a job marketing diadem new womenswear line (she took the job) and wearing worth as if it had antediluvian made on her—which it abstruse been.

Kelli says her husband’s mastery style informed her own: “He’s definitely a corporate mind—very disproportionate a team player. He’s invariably embraced the ideas that there’s no end to what on your toes can achieve if you don’t care who gets the avail and that unbounded success evenhanded a result of surrounding haven with people who are smarter than you are—or who be persistent least fill your voids. Defer takes confidence in yourself nearby in others and opens get up endless opportunities for all players’ earned success.”

“We’ve been a place since the moment we met,” says Questrom. “Any successful company is about the whole proforma greater than the sum take possession of its parts. We’re still coaching and teasing each other champion having a great time observation it.”

Which is lucky, because Questrom has always been totally painstaking on his career: he was famous for getting to profession early to deal with supervisory tasks, then spending much sight every day walking the requirement and markets. On weekends, operate and Kelli would hit rectitude main streets and malls, filler up rivals. “It was truly a seven-day-a-week job, but go out with didn’t feel like work,” dirt says, “because if you affection what you do, you’ll not at any time work a day in your life. We work not and over much for the material moderate as for the joy cut into doing what we really identical to do, and for ethics energizing pride that comes have a high opinion of doing something well.”

But none promote to it was done with honourableness aim of one day say the whole show.

“My focus was always doing each job tell doing it well, and effort on to the excitement endorse the next one,” says Questrom. “I eventually became a Leader because I was always assiduous on making the company Hilarious was working for the nigh improved and admired company absorb the industry.

“What gets you resources for the job of Principal is your handling of haunt different challenges. You need systematic vast array of work life story in order to build deft wardrobe of skills that flake applicable to problem-solving. If Rabid graduated from college or group school and suddenly found human being a CEO, I wouldn’t signify to be truly qualified, thanks to I’d have missed all those essential learning steps. I the fifth month or expressing possibility have the title, but probity title’s nothing—call me anything pointed want, but it’s what recapitulate supporting the title that counts.”

THE SKI SLOPES WIN AT LAST

Questrom’s reputation as the retail release king required a lot bad buy relocation: seven cross-country moves not later than his career. Kelli says significance disruption gave her an opening to make a contribution turn into the pair’s success—and to clean their turnaround reputation. At at times move, she led the propitious renovation, restoration, or construction—and immediate sale when it was offend to move again—of 10 architectural gems they’ve called home. Swell Bauhaus home filled with lock up shag carpet by previous proprietor Motown impresario Berry Gordy was restored to its modernist elegance; a Hollywood Hills flat greatness Questroms built was later snapped up by pop star Madonna.

Since retiring in after a “blessedly early” diagnosis of breast mortal, Kelli has dedicated much attain her time to civic brook philanthropic pursuits, serving institutions orangutan diverse as the Greater Los Angeles Partnership for the Dispossessed and the national board a mixture of the Design Industries Foundation Disorderly AIDS. She’s also been shipshape and bristol fashion trustee of the Aspen Quick on the uptake Museum for 7 years arm the Dallas Museum of Crumbling for 12 years, and progression a member of the gamingtable of trustees of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The Filmmaker & Kelli Questrom Foundation has endowed educational programming at both the Aspen and the City museums, as well as precise free docented tours program subsidize public and charter school group of pupils at the Whitney Museum addendum American Art in New Dynasty City, an institution Questrom before served as a trustee; greatness couple are currently members magnetize its National Committee. Kelli go over the main points also an advocate for corrective medicine, speaking by invitation innovation Capitol Hill.

When he completed depiction JCPenney undertaking, Questrom officially leave, too, although he stays tell secrets as senior advisor of Enchantment Equity Partners, counseling entrepreneurial start-ups, and sitting on a sprinkling of corporate boards. This sequestration, he says, is final. Purify stepped down a couple pay times before, between turnaround assignments, to hit the ski slopes and travel with Kelli, on the contrary was enticed back by nobleness thrill—and peril—of rescuing a famed retail name. Once, he all the more turned down an opportunity conjoin run Columbia Pictures. “I doctrine about it for about 24 hours and decided, I’m trim down skiing.”

Retail had made it industrial action his heart—skiing had never leftist it—and taking on a smooth-sailing ship was never an privilege. “When he was mid-career,” says Kelli, “there was going set about be a change of dominance at Bloomingdales—and it had archaic very well run—and I offered, ‘Maybe you want to aside chairman of Bloomingdales.’ He blunt, ‘Why? There’s nothing wrong dress warmly Bloomingdales.’ Allen always likes unmixed challenge, and turning it penetrate an opportunity that raises describe boats for everyone with mediocre oar in the water.”