Karen Cho is Chief Human Resources Officer for Designer Brands Inc., a $3.5B and growing global industry leader in the design, sourcing, production, wholesale and retail of footwear and accessories, including our own brands Keds, Vince Camuto, Lucky, Crown Vintage, Topo, Le Tigre and many others. Our retail and e-commerce channels include DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, Shoe Company, DSW.com, Keds.com, VinceCamuto.com and more.
Karen started her retail career over 25 years ago as an Executive Trainee for May Department Stores. After 8 years in various Buying roles, she made the transition to Human Resources when joining Apple at the beginning of their retail journey. During 11 years with Apple, Karen led various Talent Acquisition teams and initiatives while developing many of the strategies and processes that helped Apple Retail scale to over 400 stores in 5 countries.
Karen has been honored to grow and expand her HR scope since joining Designer Brands as the head of Talent Management in 2014. Designer Brands is one of North America’s largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories.