Build-A-Bear founder Maxine Clark recently detailed her corporate origin story, tracing her rise through the executive ranks of the legendary retail conglomerate May Department Stores on an episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz.
Speaking with host Guy Raz, Clark described a high-stakes corporate environment where she was given immense responsibility early on. "I definitely loved it. Mostly, I worked for the CEO of the company, and I got to travel all around to all the different divisions of the May company," Clark recalled, explaining how she was quickly tasked with handling major mergers and acquisitions.
While May Department Stores was eventually absorbed by Federated Department Stores in a massive 2005 merger, Clark’s retrospective highlights how the defunct retail giant functioned as an elite training ground for future industry disruptors. The corporate playbook she mastered there—navigating legal departments and scouting regional divisions—clearly laid the groundwork for her eventual toy empire.