Bass, Barbara
Person
Biography
Barbara Bass joined Bloomingdale's in 1980 as Operating Vice President for Branch Store Merchandising and remained with the company for almost seven years. Before coming to Bloomingdale's, Bass had worked for Burdine's, another division of Bloomingdale's parent company, Federated Department Stores. In April 1985, Bass was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Merchandise Manager at Bloomingdale's. This interview takes place roughly one month before Bass was named Chairperson and CEO of San Francisco's I. Magnin & Company, another division of Federated. While she praised Bloomingdale's equal treatment of women in the workplace, her new role at I. Magnin & Co. made her the first female CEO of any of the Federated divisions.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Barbara Bass interview, 1987 January 16, 1987 January 16
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.3.8
Scope and Contents
This interview covers broad subjects including women in the retail industry, family work balance, and the evolving role of the department store. The majority of the conversation concerns Bloomingdale's CEO at the time, Marvin S. Traub, with whom Barbara Bass worked closely. Bass talk about Traub's strong relationship with his wife, his high energy, his excellent listening skills, and his long-range style of thinking. Bass describes Traub as being pragmatic, and credits this as the reason why...
Dates:
1987 January 16