2025 Speakers

Richard Dickson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Gap Inc., leading its $15 billion business and a global team of nearly 90,000 across a portfolio including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

Dickson originally joined Gap Inc. as a Board Director in 2022, while he served in his previous role as President and Chief Operating Officer of Mattel.

At Mattel, Dickson led a portfolio of global brands, overseeing innovation strategy, design and development, brand marketing and franchise management.

Under his leadership, the company developed and launched the Mattel Playbook, a brand-building approach that has been instrumental in growing Mattel’s power brands and accelerating Mattel’s transformation.

During his tenure, Mattel grew some of the world’s most powerful and purpose-driven brands, including Barbie (the #1 doll property globally), Hot Wheels (the #1 vehicle property globally), and Fisher-Price (the #1 Infant, Toddler, and Preschool property globally).* Dickson also executive produced the “Barbie” movie, which broke box office records to become the highest grossing film of the summer, with a soundtrack that generated four Billboard Hot 100 hit singles.

Prior to Mattel, Dickson was President and CEO of Branded Businesses for The Jones Group, where he led global design and development, including marketing and merchandising, wholesale, retail, and e-commerce, brought new relevance to dated fashion labels, and acquired and developed new brands.

He also served for more than a decade as an executive at Bloomingdale’s before co-founding Gloss.com, the first online retailer dedicated to high-end cosmetics. Gloss.com was acquired by Estee Lauder in 2000.

Mr. Dickson received a bachelor’s degree from The University of Maryland and completed the UCLA Anderson School of Management executive program. He remains a member of the Board of Directors at Gap Inc., as well as the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and serves on the Board of Advisors for The Robert H. Smith School of Business at The University of Maryland.