David Zhang

David Zhang is the Chief Digital Officer of American Eagle Outfitters and an executive with over a decade of experience launching and growing retail and consumer businesses, particularly those with a focus on ecommerce. David built and honed his digital experience at Amazon where he held a variety of roles, including as general manager of various consumer business lines spanning pet, baby, household, health, beauty, and grocery. He joined Amazon as part of their acquisition of ecommerce company Quidsi Inc. and his role expanded five times during his six years there, reflecting a track record in delivering top and bottom-line growth and building exceptional teams. In the years since leaving Amazon, David has held senior management positions in a number of digitally-oriented retail and consumer businesses. He served as senior vice president and general manager of markets at Etsy, where he and his teams reaccelerated growth on the online marketplace leading to its first billion-dollar quarter in company history and a tripling of the company’s market valuation. David also served as president of children’s toy company Melissa & Doug, where he and his teams expanded the brand’s success in digital channels and launched an industry-first strategic partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics. After Melissa & Doug, David served as chief operating officer of The Farmer’s Dog, a pet-focused ecommerce company where he and his teams led the strategy, execution, and scaling of operational capabilities to enable significant growth of the brand. David’s passion for and experience in retail began many years ago at specialty retailer L Brands, where he worked as a manager on the development and commercialization of new personal care and beauty products for Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. He started his career as a strategy consultant, first at Bain & Company and later at Boston Consulting Group. David received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA from Harvard College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics.