Libby Wadle

When Libby Wadle became CEO of J.Crew Group in November 2020, the company had just emerged from Chapter 11.

Sales were down. Stores were closing.

And it was on its fourth CEO in four years.

Libby had been inside the business for over a decade, so she knew exactly where it broke.

From 2004 to 2017, she helped scale J.Crew through its golden era.

Then she launched Madewell, the company’s $600M denim brand.

Her playbook was very simple.

Cut J.Crew’s stores from 285 to 117.

Bring back the catalog (yes, the physical catalog).

Bet on Gen Z’s obsession with ‘90s nostalgia.

And remix bestsellers like the barn jacket with cropped, modern cuts.

Libby also built a resale platform (Madewell Forever) with ThredUP, Inc.

Launched one of the first Fair Trade denim programs in the U.S.

And recycled over 1 million pairs of jeans into housing insulation.

But she never guessed. She asked.

Through Madewell Group Chat, she tapped 5,000+ customers for feedback: what they wear, what they thrift, and how it should fit.

She found a simple truth: people wanted to care where their clothes came from.

Under her leadership, J.Crew is back on track to hit $3B in sales.

Madewell is still scaling.

And she’s finally pulled off what years of outside execs couldn’t: making people care about J.Crew again.