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When Lew Frankfort joined Coach Inc. in 1979 as Vice President of New Business Development the company’s sales were just $6 million. Over the last 28 years Mr. Frankfort now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has literally transformed Coach from a cottage-industry manufacturer of leather goods into the premier American accessories brand. As of September 2007 under Mr. Frankfort’s stewardship Coach’s annual sales reached nearly $2.8 billion.
In his nearly three decades at the company Mr. Frankfort has continued to build upon Coach’s strong customer franchise by broadening product offerings modernizing stores accelerating retail expansion improving operational efficiency and growing the brand’s international presence. At the beginning of his career at Coach Mr. Frankfort spearheaded the development of Coach Stores and its introduction into international markets. In 1985 Coach was acquired by Sara Lee Corporation and he was appointed President of Coach. In 1995 Mr. Frankfort was named Chairman and CEO. During 2000 he oversaw Coach’s transition to a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Prior to his corporate career Mr. Frankfort held various positions in the public sector spending ten years in New York City government. For three of those years he served as Commissioner of the Agency for Child Development and helped restore New York’s Head Start and day care programs during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s.
Mr. Frankfort holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College where he is Chair of the Visioning Cabinet and an MBA in Marketing from Columbia University where he holds a spot on the Board of Overseers of its Business School. Mr. Frankfort also serves on the Board of Directors of Teach for America a public-private partnership aimed at eliminating educational inequity in America.
Recognitions:
Barron's selected Mr. Frankfort as one of 30 Most Respected CEO's globally in each of the last three years.
Business Week named Coach one of the Top Performers in the Business Week Fifty in each of the last three years. Coach currently holds the #2 spot.
Institutional Investor magazine voted Mr. Frankfort as the top CEO in his sector for years 2004 through 2007. | 