Leslie H. Wexner

Leslie H. Wexner, is the Founder, and former Chairman and CEO of L Brands. Mr. Wexner founded the company in Columbus, Ohio, in 1963 with one store and first- year sales of $160,000, growing the retail company into a global leader in lingerie, fragrance and beauty.

Mr. Wexner is Chair of The New Albany Company, a real estate development company he founded 35 years ago. In collaboration with renowned architects, planners and civic leadership, Wexner developed a master plan for the community that enriches the quality of life for residents, employees and businesses. New Albany has since grown from 1,600 in 1990 to 11,000 residents today and was named America’s #1 Suburb by Business Insider and Best Cities to Live by Wall Street 24/7. A centerpiece of the community is 6,000 acre New Albany International Business Park, which has attracted $8 billion in private investment and 20,000 employees. Investment and employment is growing exponentially as the business park prepares to welcome Intel, the most significant economic development project in the history of the state of Ohio.

Mr. Wexner has a profound interest in the development of tomorrow’s leaders, through the works of Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership; the Wexner  Foundation; and The Ohio State University. His areas of community interest include The Ohio State University and it’s Wexner Medical Center; the Columbus Partnership; Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University; Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus; and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Columbus.

Mr. Wexner has received the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award of the United Way of America, Woodrow Wilson Award for Citizenship, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, Knight of the Italian Republic and the American Jewish Committee Herbert H. Lehman Centennial Leadership Award. Mr. Wexner is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; chairman, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Board, chairman emeritus of the Columbus Partnership and past chair of The Ohio State University Board. He is also a founding member and the first chair of The Ohio State University Foundation.

Mr. Wexner holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and honorary degrees from Brandeis University; Hebrew Union College; Hofstra University; Marietta College; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; The Ohio State University; University of Tel Aviv; and Yeshiva University. Mr. Wexner was inaugurated by Harvard University into the Society of John Harvard Fellows and has served as a visiting lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Wexner and his wife, Abigail, are the parents of four children.

WMCB Appointment: 11/8/2013