Company: Kendra Scott
Title: Founder, Executive Chairwoman and Chief Visionary Officer
Industry: Retail
Standout achievement in 2025: Expanded her brand's U.S. bricks‑and‑mortar footprint with new store openings and broader retail concepts, including eyewear and lifestyle categories.
Kendra Scott has built and expanded a jewelry and fashion empire, adding brands and styles over a 23-year period that led to the creation of a billion-dollar company. She launched her eponymous brand in 2002 with $500. The company now has over 160 stores.
Known initially for its gemstone designs, Scott has extended into new retail categories. In 2025, Kendra Scott Eyewear was launched. Under its Western-themed brand, Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott — which has become one of its main sales and new customer drivers — the company also launched Yellow Rose Boots.
Philanthropy is a focus for Scott, whose company has raised more than $70 million in monetary and in-kind donations for women and youth-related charitable causes since 2010. In 2025, the company turned its Texas stores into donation centers after the Kerr County flooding and raised over $500,000 in one month to support Texas Search & Rescue, Mercy Chefs, and the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.
