Bonnie Brooks

Bonnie Brooks has restored one of North America’s greatest department stores, Hudson’s Bay Co., to its rightful place as a world-class retailer. As its first female CEO, Brooks led The Bay through sweeping, institutional changes—no small feat—that revitalized one of the planet’s oldest brands. Stylish and thoughtful, she speaks on leadership, innovation, turnaround, and the meeting of creativity and commerce.

In February 2014, Brooks was appointed Vice Chairman of Hudson’s Bay Company, the world’s oldest continuously operating company, which owns and operates Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor in the USA, and, of course, Hudson’s Bay department stores in Canada. Prior to her current role, Brooks was President and CEO of HBC; and before she oversaw the company’s successful turnaround, Brooks was based in Hong Kong, where she revitalized another iconic retailer, Asia’s Lane Crawford, helming 500 stores across nine Asian countries.

Brooks has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Flare, Canada’s largest fashion magazine, and Executive VP of Holt Renfrew, where she brought many major American and European designer brands to Canada. She is one of Monocle’s Top 25 Retailers worldwide and one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. She has received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for philanthropy, and is a member of the American Marketing Association Marketing Hall of Legends. In October 2014, she became the first woman to receive the prestigious Ivey Business Leader of the Year Award.

Brooks is Chaiman of the Board of Trustees of the ROM, appointed by the Premier of Ontario, a member of the Board of Directors for Empire Company Limited, Rogers Communications, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Brooks holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and was the Parsons School of Design Honoree in 2013.