G ary Friedman is an American retail visionary who is the chairman and CEO of RH (formerly Restoration Hardware). His is a remarkable story of a self-made executive who transformed a struggling retail brand into a luxury home furnishings powerhouse. A college dropout, he started his career in the stockroom of a Gap store and rose through the ranks of retail, eventually becoming a president at Williams-Sonoma.

In 2001, he took the helm of the near-bankrupt company Restoration Hardware. He completely reinvented the brand, moving it away from quirky novelties and towards a high-end, luxury aesthetic with a focus on large-scale furniture and a distinctive, monochromatic design style. He has built RH into a major force in the luxury market, with its massive "galleries" in opulent, historic buildings, its thick source books, and its expansion into hospitality with restaurants and hotels. He is known for his bold, iconoclastic leadership style and his obsessive focus on brand and design.