Les Wexner

Leslie "Les" H. Wexner (born September 8, 1937) is an American businessman. He is chairman and CEO of the L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) corporation.

Early life

Wexner was born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Dayton, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University, majoring in business administration. He became a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He briefly attended law school, but left to help his parents run their store in a suburban Columbus, Ohio, shopping center.

Career

In 1963, Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt to start The Limited (so named because the store focused on clothing for younger women, unlike his parents' general merchandise store). The Limited opened its first store in the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. Wexner's parents closed their store one year later and joined their son at The Limited. Wexner took Limited Brands public in 1969, listed as LTD on the NYSE. Wexner is the longest serving CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Over the years he built a retailing and marketing conglomerate, which currently includes: Victoria's Secret, Pink (Victoria's Secret), Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, C. O. Bigelow, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza. Previous brands that have spun off include: Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner New York, The Limited Too (now Tween Brands, Inc.), Structure 9, Aura Science, The Limited (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Sun Capital Investments, made official as of August 3, 2007), Express (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Golden Gate Capital, made official as of July 6, 2007). Allegations have been made that Wexner's The Limited Inc. has used slave labor both in the United States and abroad. These charges have been made particularly against Victoria's Secret which is part of The Limited Inc. and owned by Wexner.