THE MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS 2021
Mary Beth Laughton
CEO, ATHLETA
Superstar gymnast Simone Biles announced in April that she was cutting ties with Nike to sign a partnership with Athleta, saying she valued the women’s activewear brand for seeing her as a person, not just an athlete. Two years earlier, Athleta wooed sprinting champion Allyson Felix, who announced she was leaving Nike because it had failed to support her when she was pregnant. “ Athletes, just like consumers, are choosing brands whose values match their own,” says Mary Beth Laughton, who oversaw both deals. Since becoming CEO in 2019, Laughton has supercharged Athleta’s longstanding mission of empowering its consumers, both famous
