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Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Women in Retail Talks, the podcast where C-suite executive women in the retail space share their stories of professional growth leadership development, personal journeys and more.
I'm Melissa Campanelli, the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle, which is a membership based community of senior level women in retail.
Today we're here with Dana Kwanbeck, the CEO of Rothy's, where she leads the fast growing retailer through its next phase of expansion.
With more than 20 years of experience across retail apparel and footwear, Dana oversees the brand's financial, strategic and operational engine, spanning global e-commerce, retail and wholesale channels.
Dana also played a central role in laying the groundwork for Rothy's 2021 minority investment, which valued the company at 1 billion.
Prior to Rothy's, Dana had held several roles at Charlotte Roos, including CFO and interim CEO.
And earlier in her career she worked in retail investment banking at Bank of America Maryland, And she also spent several years in public accounting.
Welcome.
Thank you, Melissa.
We're so happy to have you here.
We're loving NRF in the press room.
Yes, yes.
It's a lively, lively event here.
I know you just came from the stage speaking.
So we're so happy you came down here to join us.
So I'm just going to jump into some questions that we had talked about prior.
So the first one is, It's 2026.
We're in New York.
It's the center of the retail universe.
What's top of mind for you right now as you step into the year?
Oh, do we have enough time for this question?
It's a really good one.
You know, as I transition into the CEO role, I'm really thinking about growth.
I'm thinking about building an enduring brand.
And I'm thinking about our product at the center of that and a vision with Rothy's in every closet in the world.
It starts with a great vision.
So you know there's a lot happening, a lot of change happening in our industry, as we've seen over the last 10 years.
And that's not going to change, I think, going into the next 10, right?
Sure.
But I'm really, really excited about some of the growth opportunities that we have with our own brand.
And I'm rooting on a lot of brands on the sidelines too.
So I think it's a really exciting time to be in our industry.
Not every year has been exciting like this.
We've certainly had our ups and downs, but yeah, there's a lot to be optimistic for.
Great.
So your 2026 word is growth.
Growth.
Exactly.
Love it.
So, as I said in the intro, your career spans so many different sort of industries, capital markets, operations.
Now you're CEO.
Our listeners love to hear a little bit about career journeys and how to prepare for the top role.
So what do you feel most prepared you for your current role as CEO?
This is hard because I think about all of the roles I've had as part of an equation adding up to where I am today.
And there's not one particular role that prepared me.
It's really the culmination of all of it packaged together.
And you know I would say starting in Wall Street was such an incredible experience, training ground to really see a lot and have this vantage point that's very unique.
It wasn't satiating to me because I wanted to learn how businesses really run, not just outside looking in, but inside, and becoming an operator has been such a rich journey for me.
So I would say the addition of all of those things that's prepared me a lot of boardroom work.
Yeah, Anytime you can sit in the boardroom boy, that's a gift.
Definitely.
And a financial acumen too.
Absolutely.
And, you know, finance is a really interesting role because you see everything.
You connect dots, not at the level of the CEO, but I would say really, really closely.
So I'm lucky that that's where I sort of earned my stripes, if you will.
And I got to see a lot. it's prepared me for sure.
I love that.
It's sort of like just the culmination, just it's put you in the perfect spot for this.
Yeah.
And you know, if I think back, this was not my planned journey, right?
And I think being flexible and leaning in when you find something you're passionate about helps you find authentically where you're meant to be.
And I remember when I was early in my career, I thought, gosh, I need to have it all figured out.
But actually, It's all adding up to your ultimate destiny.
And so, you know, I wish I had one quick silver bullet piece of advice, but I, you know, I think it's knowing what you're good at and learning what you're not.
And focusing on that as you move forward.
I love it.
Yeah.
So let's talk a little bit about Rothy's growth.
As I mentioned earlier, this is kind of a vague question, but I would just like to get your perspective.
So what's non-negotiable and what has to change?
In other words, what is it about Rothy's that you want to make sure stays the same as it grows?
But then what are some things that you might want to move?
Evolve.
Yeah, evolve, right.
We think about this all the time.
Rothy's was founded with the intention to make the perfect shoe that lives at the front of the closet.
That's also made and designed in a way that's friendly to our industry, to our planet.
Friendlier, I will say.
Our non-negotiables are really around our product, right?
Continuing to create amazing, beautiful product that customers can then experience in the way that we know only Rothy's can do.
Sustainability is one of our biggest non-negotiables, and thinking about sustainability, not just in our product, but throughout our business, is really important.
We started again with the perfect shoe and I'm not the perfect shoes.
It was very, very, you know, tight in the assortment.
And one of the things that we want to do is continue to expand, thinking about other places in the closet right.
Thinking about different use cases. really meeting our customers where they are so we're expanding and diversifying our sales channels we're expanding and leaning into growth areas like men's and kids and accessories all with that same founding purpose around our product which is that high frequency of use you know you just reach for it every time and that's that's rothy yeah love it because i was actually the next question was going to be around sustainability obviously that's a non-negotiable.
So how do you track it and manage it like a real business priority as opposed to just like an idea, or green washing like they say?
Yeah.
I think Rothy's is unique in that we were founded on this premise.
And so we've not had to, and I, I applaud, I came from fast fashion.
I spent five years in fast fashion.
And so I applaud any company that's trying to do better.
It is a lot harder to take something that is unsustainable, takes a lot longer and a lot more work to then make it, you know, more earth friendly.
But you can do a lot along the way.
Rathi, that was in our DNA from the founding.
As we make decisions.
It could be anything from propping and fixturing in our stores to packaging material.
It's not just using, you know, recycled materials.
Yes, that's it.
But it's also the manufacturing process.
It's of these things that go hand in hand.
And if you think about sustainability, it's everybody's responsibility at Rothy's, not just one division.
So we track it and manage it as part of our business.
And I think we're just about 230 million water bottles kept out of landfills, which is really amazing.
I wish I had a visual.
I wish I could say that's, you know, five Empire State Building plastic bottles, but that's a lot.
That is a lot.
That's an unbelievable number.
And we're just doing our really small part, right?
But it's something we're very proud of.
And it's fulfilling, I think, for team members, for customers.
Yeah.
That's so great.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
I wanted to get back a little bit more into leadership and sort of professional development.
So it's so impressive that you helped raise the capital, the $1 billion valuation.
I would love.
That's amazing in its own right, but I would love to let our audience know how you were able to do that from an executive credibility perspective, if that makes sense.
I just hear a lot about trying to sell to investors and boards as a woman.
So I would just love to get your perspective on that.
Oh, it's a good, it's a really good question.
I think you've got to be a a good student, and you have to know all of your facts.
And so much of a capital raise is about diligence.
It's about thinking on your feet, questions that are going to be asked.
And you almost have to think ahead.
Be one step ahead at all times in the process to make sure that you have an ask and answer.
And if you don't, you're honest about it and you come back with a thoughtful analysis.
I think credibility and authenticity is so important.
And when you're looking to outside capital, trust is really important.
And over my career, I've been able to build trust with my investors, my boards.
That was part of this process as well.
But you have to really know your business.
You can't partially know it.
I think I love the fake it till you make it mentality, but there are some times that you just can't fake it.
And a process like we ran is one of those times.
And so, I mean, I think that's true of men and women.
Exactly.
It says, know your stuff and be prepared, be prepared, be prepared.
And people you're talking to incredibly intelligent, experienced, thoughtful people.
And what's amazing about investors now is they're not just about the numbers.
They're about the value of the brand over time.
They're about the longevity of the idea.
They're about the scale that you can reach ultimately and the addressable market.
And so you have to think about all of these things.
It's not just numbers and a P&L.
It's way beyond that and continuing to match back to the story that you founded.
It's an art, let me tell you.
It's a science, but it's really artful.
So interesting.
It's actually my favorite thing to do.
Really?
Of all of the things.
Really?
Maybe it's because I grew up on Wall Street.
Yeah, I was going to say, maybe that's like the background or whatever.
But you also understand the power of data and understanding that you're giving folks what they need to make the right decision.
That's right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's like rewarding in that regard.
It really is.
Yeah.
Yeah, going to jump to jenny ming, because we talked about her a little bit before this um this, this podcast, but we have worked with her a few times at women in retail.
You know she was a former ceo.
Yes um, i would love to know what you learned from her.
Um, jenny is just.
I am the number one member of her fan club and i know there are many, many in that group.
Jenny taught me two things.
One Jenny has an incredible growth mindset.
And I think especially joining as her finance partner initially 12 years ago.
You're grounded in numbers and your finance people are incredibly grounded.
But she taught me the ability to see beyond numbers.
I got to follow her around.
And this is how I learned from her.
Sitting and listening to the questions that she asked And you know, not everything is about dollars and cents.
And I learned that from Jenny.
The other thing I learned from her from a leadership perspective was how to be human.
She's a mom.
Yeah.
She's a fantastic friend.
And so much of our business is about human connection.
And so I learned a lot of soft skills from Jenny, even though she's this incredible.
Powerhouse.
Yes.
Yeah. leader.
She's also, you know, the first person I text to ask is this the persimmon you can eat when it's soft, or do you eat it when it's hard?
You know, she's just this like well-balanced friend that you always want to have in your life.
Share ideas with, get recipes from, you know, talk about books, right?
I gotta tell you, this was a planned transition, a very modern transition, if you will.
And My first day in the office without Jenny was last Monday.
And I came out of a meeting and my first inclination was to walk to her office.
And I walked into her office and it was my office.
And I was like, whoa, where's Jenny?
Oh, wow.
Because we've been partners for so long.
But I admire her grit and tenacity.
I admire her ability to get clarity and priorities really defined and go after them.
And that's really important.
You can't second guess yourself.
So she's just been that really incredible mentor.
I know for so many people, I'm one of many lucky beneficiaries.
Yeah.
Love it.
That's awesome.
I'm actually going to jump ahead, because you had mentioned that Jenny has a family and she's a whole leader.
We like to call that like a holistic leader.
How do you do it all?
I mean because I read your bio and I know that you obviously you lead the brand, but then you also overseeing a non-profit, I believe or you have a family and too, you know, I I don't do it all all at once yeah, and I am surrounded by an incredible team at Rothy's.
In my personal life, I have an incredible community.
My husband will never hear this podcast, but I have an incredible partner who has a very busy job, and I make sure to take time for myself.
I don't need to take a two-week complete reset vacation.
Every time I feel overwhelmed I can take little snack breaks, go for a run, meet a friend for coffee and rejuvenate quickly.
So I feel lucky that I'm surrounded by an incredible support network.
And that's so important for women, whether it's your friend network or your professional network.
I just saw outside one of our head of planning from Charlotte Roos.
She happened to be here.
And we just gave each other the biggest hug.
She's part of that group, right?
You know, surrounding yourself with people that can really help you do it all is as important as trying to do it.
And then setting priorities and boundaries and getting teams in place where you need it is critical.
Priorities and boundaries is super important.
Yeah.
My favorite job of all of the jobs is to be a mom.
Aww.
How many kids do you have?
I have four children and I think you become a different leader when you you know whether you're an auntie or you're a mom, or you're, you know, aspiring to be a mom someday, or you have grandchildren.
I mean, I think it's very fulfilling in a very different way, and so I've got it.
Wow.
What are the ages, you know, I'm asking?
Yeah, no, I don't.
I have identical twin boys who are 15.
Oh, wow.
I have a seven-year-old daughter who I hope will listen to this podcast someday.
And I have a son who would be 12 that is 13 that is in heaven.
And he's very much a part of my story and my family.
And you know what?
It's really part of your journey.
And that's one of the things that Jenny taught me is Your work life and your professional life can be separate and they can be so intertwined.
And the family at Rothy's that I have has been a huge part of my journey as a mom.
Yeah, yeah.
Let's jump ahead.
So for the leaders in our audience who are listening and they want to be on the C-suite, it's kind of like what we talked about earlier.
But let's bring it around to today.
So what do you think today's executives need to do differently to really earn a seat in the C-suite?
Do they have to behave differently they may have even five years ago?
And what is that?
Or maybe not?
You know, I think there's so many similarities with paths you know, over the course of probably the last 30, 40 years to being a leader.
I think it's being a student first and really understanding, being a great listener.
Mm-hmm and being able to act with clarity and conviction.
Your teams are looking to you for guidance.
And if you're waffling, they see that and they feel that.
And you can't have that presence if you don't really understand and know the business.
And so I would say to learn all aspects, know what you're great at and know where you need to find partners to fill in your gaps.
And I think that self-awareness is as important as the technical skills and the graduate degrees and all of that.
All of that is great.
But if you can't look beyond your own skill set, you'll fall short of what really success looks like.
So I'm a huge fan of just sometimes sitting in meetings that I don't even need to be a part of, just to listen.
And to learn.
And learn.
Take notes and sort of understand what's going on.
Yeah.
That's right.
You have to be more of a generalist.
You too.
Yeah.
And have an appreciation too for where you need experts.
Right.
And where you don't.
Right.
Where that's just more part of your whole.
You know, I never thought I would physically be making shoes.
And if you asked me to make a pair of Rothy's, it would be a very Poor quality care.
But I so respect and understand the process and what goes into it.
Because you've been invited to those meetings.
And spend time in our factory and spend time with our customers in our retail stores.
You have to be a student of all of it.
You can't just grow up in one silo and expect that that's going to be your leadership point of view.
And I think that that's really important. should be really fun too.
That's where I find the most joy.
Yeah.
If it's not fun, what's the point, right?
Right.
And if you're not learning something new, things get stale fast.
So we're about to end this wonderful podcast.
So we started out with sort of what you're thinking about for 2026.
But what about personally?
You know what are you most looking forward to to the year ahead?
Do you have anything unplanned or?
Oh, well, goodness, I am going to admit that I am a horrible reader.
I have just never.
I wanted to go to law school and I realized I just I obviously can read, but it's not something I'm passionate about.
It's a new found passion that I'm learning.
So I'm starting to read leadership books, which never say never.
Why would you ever read business books when you're in business?
I've started to read leadership books And read for fun.
And my seven-year-old daughter and I just joined a book club.
That's so fun.
I never thought I would be talking about something that's not really a joy of mine that I found some joy and respite in
And I'm a huge traveler.
Right.
Love to walk markets.
So I've got some travels coming up.
That's fun.
And I'm really, really excited about what we're going to accomplish at Rothy's as I step into this chapter.
Sure.
You said it.
In fact, I opened our board meeting in December saying 2026 is about growth.
Yeah, I should get a.
You should get a shirt that says um on it and and I'm excited to be a part of this you know, it's going to be an exciting year for you really.
It really is.
That's great, and I love the reading.
I I sort of am thinking about that too, reading more.
We're always on our screens, right?
Yeah, it's something.
There's something nice about a book.
You know, like I went to the library over break and I got a bunch of books.
Like it was so exciting and And it doesn't require you to get on an airplane.
Right.
And I can, I really found it as a place of meditation for me.
Yeah.
So what, can you say what book you're reading?
Like what leadership book?
I am currently reading CEO excellence, which was written by three McKinsey partners.
And it is fantastic.
Um, one of the writers spoke at one of our events, one Carolina.
Yeah.
She's amazing.
She wrote on the cover of my book and I've been carrying it around for several years and I'm reading it.
Um, What I love about it is the mix of very valuable industry insider information with quant.
Let's back it up with statistics and only a way McKinsey could do.
I would say a high value for your time book.
We'd love more recommendations.
I've got one from an author upstairs.
I'm excited to really expand this.
I think it's good for us.
It's good for mental health.
I think it's good to stop.
I think it's good to get off screens.
Right.
And I'm trying to be better at something that I never thought I was good at.
Yeah, there you go.
You're going to be good.
It's a year of growth.
So anyway, thank you so much, Dana.
It was a pleasure to chat with you.
I hope you had a good experience as well.
Thank you.
And we'll definitely keep in touch for Women in Retail.
Thank you so much.
Bye-bye.
Thanks, everybody.
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Thanks, and until next time, this has been Women in Retail Talks.
Reimagine your leadership at the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, held April 27th through the 29th in Miami.
Register now at womeninretailsummit.com and save $100 with discount code PODCAST.
