Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> May 1, 1998
MARCY SYMS is President and Chief Executive Officer of Syms Corp, a
chain of off-price apparel stores. Founded by her father Sy Syms in
1959, Syms Corp was one of the first stores to offer designer and name
brand clothing at substantially lower prices than conventional stores.
The Company operates 41 stores in 16 states, employs 3,000 people and
produces nearly $350 million dollars. Marcy Syms has been instrumental
in growing the business out of its New York roots and has made the
Company's tag line, 'An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer' one of
the most recognized in America. When Ms. Syms was named President of
Syms Corp in 1983, she was one of the youngest female presidents of a
New York Stock Exchange company. She is a founding board member of the
Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, where she has served
on the board since its inception in 1985. Marcy Syms is a featured
columnist for Family Business Magazine, and she is the author of the
widely acclaimed book Mind Your Own Business: and Keep It In The Family.
Her professional affiliations are many and include current membership in
the Young President's Organization, the Committee of 200, the
International Women's Forum and the Economic Club of New York. Since
1986, she has served as a Director of Stanley Blacker, Inc., and has
recently been appointed to the Board of Directors of American Materials,
based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Marcy Syms currently serves on many not-
for-profit Boards, including-the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising,
the American Women's Economic Development Corporation, chaired by Alair
Townson, the Manhattan Theater Club and The New York Women's Agenda.
Ms. Syms has recently been the proud recipient of four awards for
professional achievement--the Distinguished Business Leader of the Year,
presented by Monmouth University; the Marvin Feldman Award presented by
the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Distinguished Alumni Award from
Boston University, and a special award from the Women's Campaign Fund
honoring Women Presidents. Marcy Syms graduated from Finch College, and
she earned her Masters of Science in Public Relations from Boston
University. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from Bryant College and is
currently enrolled in the Owner/President Management Program (OPM) at
Harvard University. An enthusiastic advocate for education, Syms was
named to the National Commission on American Jewish Women, a group of 23
women of achievement which oversaw a major research project conducted by
the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. She
is a trustee of the Stern College for Women and a member of the Advisory
Council of the Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program at
Cornell University. She has taught Marketing at Parsons College and was
a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Princeton University. Profile
thumbnail sketch of your company as it stands now.
Ms. Syms: Syms is an off price, designer and brand name retailer. We
sell
