| Dov Charney  Born: 31-Jan-1969
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Gender: Male
Religion: Atheist
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business, Fashion Designer Nationality: Canada
Executive summary: American Apparel CEO Dov Charney got his start in fashion while still in high school, buying up t-shirts in the U.S., carrying them across the Canadian border while on school breaks, and then silk-screening and hustling them in his native Montreal. He dropped out of Tufts after his junior year and moved to Columbia, SC, forming clothing company American Heavy in 1989. Outsourcing of clothing manufacturing jobs sent that company into bankruptcy in 1996, but two years later Charney relocated to Los Angeles and reformed as American Apparel. The key to his new business was vertical integration, housing the design, manufacture, and marketing of clothes under one roof, a seven-story pink warehouse in downtown L.A. In 2004, he opened the first American Apparel retail store; two years later there were more than a hundred stores worldwide. American Apparel is the nation's third-largest manufacturer of underpants and cotton shirts, after Hanes and Fruit of the Loom.
American Apparel's ad campaign features polaroids of skimpy, everyday-looking models, often employees photographed by Charney himself. The C.E.O. has fostered a corporate culture which permits him to walk around in his underpants, and Charney makes no secret of dating his employees. He has been thrice accused of sexual harassment by former employees, though two of those charges have been dropped. In 2004, Jane magazine reporter Claudine Ko spent a month tailing him for a personal profile. In between factory tours and interviews, she witnessed Charney getting a blowjob from his girlfriend, as well as eight casual masturbation sessions -- though he is sure to ask her permission each time and does not allow his relief to interrupt the interview taking place. At the end, Ko reflects positively on the experience, painting Charney as less of a lech and more of a candid gallant.
Father: Maurice Charney (architect)
Mother: Sylvia Safdie (painter)
High School: Choate Rosemary Hall
University: Tufts University (drop-out)
American Apparel Founder and CEO
Jewish Ancestry
Risk Factors: Smoking
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