Cynthia Harriss is an American retail and tourism industry executive, most notable for her senior roles with Gap Inc. and The Walt Disney Company.
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Harriss was born Indiana and received a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in Missouri. In 2000 she received the Tree of Life Award for outstanding community service from the Jewish National Fund.
Most recently, Harriss served as president of Gap Inc.'s namesake chain of apparel stores. In this capacity, she oversaw all aspects of the Gap brand's operations, including its adult line as well as the brand's GapKids, babyGap and gapbody businesses. Harriss was appointed president of Gap brand in May 2005 and resigned from the post in February 2007. Marka Hansen, former president of Gap Inc.'s Banana Republic brand, succeeded Harriss as president of Gap brand.[1]
Prior to serving as president of Gap brand, Harriss served as president of Gap Inc.'s Outlet division, a position she held from February 2004 until May 2005. In this role, Harriss had oversight of Gap Inc.'s three outlet chains: Banana Republic Factory Stores, Gap Outlet and Old Navy Outlet.
Before joining Gap Inc., Harriss served as president of Disneyland Resort, where she managed all aspects of the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park theme parks, as well as the resort's hotels and retail operations. Previously, Harriss held a variety of senior positions with The Walt Disney Company, including senior vice president of park operations at Disneyland, and senior vice president of stores for the Disney Store chain.
Harriss is known for her close professional relationship with Paul Pressler, with whom she worked at both Disney and Gap.[2] The former CEO of Gap Inc., Pressler also held a variety of senior executive positions at Disney, including chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, president of the Disneyland Resort and president of Disney Store chain. Harriss' February 2007 resignation from Gap came shortly after Pressler announced he would step down as the company's CEO, in January 2007.[3]
Before joining Disney in 1992, Harriss spent 19 years with the Paul Harris Stores women's clothing chain, in a variety of marketing and operations roles.
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