# Laura Alber

> Laura Alber is the longest-tenured female CEO on the Fortune 500, running Williams-Sonoma, Inc. since 2010. She built Pottery Barn Kids from a business plan she wrote while pregnant, then doubled the parent company's revenue and turned a furniture catalog company into one of the largest digital-first home retailers in America.

- **Role:** President and CEO, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Williams-Sonoma, Inc., Pottery Barn, West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, Salesforce (board), Fitbit (former board), University of Pennsylvania (board of overseers), The Business Council, Business Roundtable
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, study abroad, University of Edinburgh
- **Known for:** Longest-tenured female CEO on the Fortune 500, Doubled Williams-Sonoma's annual revenue during her tenure, Built Pottery Barn Kids from a written plan into a global business with 90+ stores

## Career timeline

- **1990** — Graduates from University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in psychology
- **1990s** — Drives to California with no plan; takes odd jobs, then an entry-level role at Gap Inc.
- **1995** — Joins Williams-Sonoma as a senior buyer for Pottery Barn
- **1998** — Writes the business plan for Pottery Barn Kids while pregnant with her first daughter
- **2002** — Becomes President of Pottery Barn
- **2006** — Promoted to President of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
- **2010** — Named CEO of Williams-Sonoma at age 40
- **2014** — Fortune names her Businessperson of the Year
- **2015** — Fortune Businessperson of the Year, again
- **2016** — Joins board of Fitbit
- **2021** — Joins board of Salesforce
- **2023** — Named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women list; speaks at World Economic Forum, Davos
- **2025** — Discusses tariff mitigation strategy publicly on CNBC

## Achievements

- Longest-tenured female CEO on the Fortune 500
- Doubled Williams-Sonoma's annual revenue during her tenure
- Built Pottery Barn Kids from a written plan into a global business with 90+ stores
- Made Williams-Sonoma one of the largest U.S. e-tailers, with roughly half of revenue online
- Fortune Businessperson of the Year, 2014 and 2015
- Fortune Most Powerful Women, 2023
- Board director, Salesforce

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Spoke with CNBC about Williams-Sonoma's tariff mitigation strategy
- **2023-11** — Long Fortune interview on housing slowdown, B2B sales, and AI in retail
- **2023-01** — Appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos

## Links

- Website: https://williams-sonomainc.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-a-b69969114
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WilliamsSonoma
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/WilliamsSonoma

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/laura-alber
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30