TJX's Carol Meyrowitz keeps a low profile -- and in 2009, she let a simple marketing coinage -- "Maxxinista" -- do the talking for her.
The T.J. Maxx ad campaign, which portrayed budget-conscious fashionistas getting great deals at the discount retailer, tapped into shoppers' thrifty sensibilities and yielded a great 2009 for the company, which also owns Marshalls and HomeGoods.
Meyrowitz, who became CEO in 2007 after three decades in retail, is enjoying a record stock price and profits -- and not just because of her stores' deep discounts. Off-price retailers Loehmann's and Filene's Basement have both struggled throughout the downturn, but Meyrowitz's flair for making bargain shopping as fun as boutique browsing has kept TJX in the black.
NEXT: Ursula M. Burns
