<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"PinterestFacebookDavid Bowie blares on her iPod, she loves her Starbucks double espresso macchiatos and she usually wears jeans to work. Maureen Chiquet, 45, brings a breath of fresh air&amp;#8212; and a hefty dose of American business savvy&amp;#8212;to her job as global CEO of Chanel. She&amp;#39;s not only helped make the estimated $14.8 billion company &amp;quot;arguably the single most valuable fashion brand,&amp;quot; according to Portfolio magazine, she&amp;#39;s done it as one of just a handful of women heading huge multinational corporations.\nNot bad for a St. Louis native who went from a career at ultracasual Old Navy (as executive vice president, she grew the chain from 35 stores to 850) to the presidency of mall staple Banana Republic. Her Old Navy mentor, Mickey Drexler, recalls her as &amp;quot;a get-it-done partner. She&amp;#39;s one of the most intense people I&amp;#39;ve met.&amp;quot;\nSince joining the house of interlocking C&amp;#39;s in 2003, Chiquet has put runway shows on iPhones; launched ads with a near-nude Keira Knightley; and hired starchitect Zaha Hadid to design a pavilion for a Chanel exhibit on a global tour starting this year. &amp;quot;Clients may say, Chanel would do that?&amp;#39;&amp;quot; Chiquet says. &amp;quot;But I want that response.&amp;quot; She cites founder Coco Chanel, the icon who made faux pearls chic and invented the little black dress, as her inspiration. &amp;quot;Her audacity and confidence give me the sense that there are no barriers,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;as long as one follows one&amp;#39;s heart.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/story/test-maureen-chiquet>