Jenny From the Block

Rothy’s has been resurgent ever since Jenny Ming, a retail veteran of Gap and Old Navy, left the boardroom and got back into the C-suite. In a candid interview, she discusses diversifying Rothy’s channels and supply chain as the shoe brand moves beyond D.T.C.

Ming also freed Rothy’s from the direct-to-consumer stigma stinking up a lot of its competitors, and has managed to please its core customer while attracting a new set of city walkers looking for cute mary-jane flats that won’t cause blisters. Photo: Michael O'Donnell/WWD/Penske Media/Getty Images

Sarah Shapiro

May 6, 2025

Jenny Ming wasn’t looking for another C.E.O. gig when Rothy’s came calling, and it took a few tries to persuade her to take the helm in 2024. A retail veteran who helped launch Old Navy with Mickey Drexler in the ’90s, and who had graduated to appointments on almost a dozen boards, Ming was comfortably semi-retired and focused on mentoring other leaders. Then Rothy’s co-founders Stephen Hawthornthwaite, an investment banker, and Roth Martin, who led most of the brand’s design, invited her to jump back in the game. She started as C.E.O. early last year.