Maxine Clark, founder, chief executive Bear, and chairman of Build-A-Bear Workshop, is one of the true innovators in the retail industry. During her 30-year career, her ability to spot emerging retail and merchandising trends and her insight into the desires of the American consumer have generated growth for retail leaders, including department, discount, and specialty stores. In 1997, Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop, a teddy-bear themed retail-entertainment experience. Today, there are more than 400 stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, as well as franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2007, the company extended its in-store interactive online experience—buildabearville.com®. In 2009 and 2010, Build-A-Bear Workshop was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list.

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