Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> March 14, 2005
JOHN KYEES, CFO of Urban Outfitters, Inc., is a 30-year veteran in the
retail industry with CFO roles at several retailers. Most recently, Mr
Kyees was CFO and CAO for bebe stores, Inc., a 185-store retailer
headquartered in San Francisco, California. Mr Kyees was previously CFO
for Skinmarket, a startup teenage cosmetic retailer, CFO for Ashley
Stewart and CFO for HC Holdings. Mr Kyees's career began with Ford Motor
Company in Detroit, Michigan, where he was a Cost Accounting Supervisor.
Following Ford, he joined the J.L. Hudson Company, a large regional
department store located in Detroit, Michigan. At Hudson's, he held
several Director roles and finally the role as the Assistant to the
President. The startup world appealed to him and he helped establish a
car company manufacturing full size operational models of the 1929 Model
A Roadster, which was headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was
CFO for two years. From the Model A company, he moved to Chas. A.
Stevens, a division of Hartmarx located in Chicago, Illinois, as the
CFO. Mr Kyees then became CFO at Express (Division of The Limited) in
Columbus, Ohio. Mr Kyees was part of the team that grew the business
from 100 stores to 750 stores and from $70 million to $1.5 billion.
During that time they established the Structure and Bath and BodyWorks
businesses. Mr Kyees's educational background includes a BS in Business
Administration from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Finance from
the University of Detroit. Profile
the company today?
Mr. Kyees: Today, the company is in a relatively early stage of growth.
It's been around for over 30
