Rachel Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of Gardner White, the fourth-generation leader of the 112-year-old, family-owned and -operated furniture company; Stewart has been at the helm as president since 2017.
As one of the only female leaders in the furniture industry, Stewart’s dynamic approach to business and community has established her as a respected and admired leader, innovator, and trailblazer. With a strategic vision and an unrelenting drive for success, Stewart has been instrumental in Gardner White’s continued expansion in southeast Michigan, which now includes 13 retail locations throughout Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Saginaw and a team of over 1,000 employees and growing.
Stewart currently serves on the board of directors for Business Leaders for Michigan, The Parade Company, Math Corps, Detroit Economic Club, and American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation.
Before Gardner White, Stewart was at the U.S. Department of Energy, working for Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Dr. Steven Chu to drive down the installed price of solar energy to be competitive with other forms of electricity.
Stewart earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science.