Dov Charney

Charney, 45, was born in Montreal and attended Tufts University where he ran American Apparel out of his dorm room. He moved the business to Los Angeles in 1997. American Apparel began as a wholesale brand and expanded in 2003 into the retail market. Charney has been dogged by lawsuits and allegations of misconduct for years, but has always served as the public face of the Los Angeles retailer. He has also become a well-known advocate for the Made in the U.S.A. movement and for immigration reform. American Apparel’s clothing is manufactured out of a factory in downtown Los Angeles, and he has emphasized that the company is "sweatshop-free." Still, in recent years, the company has had to remove a third of its workforce after employees were found without required documentation. According to the release regarding Charney's ouster, American Apparel has about 10,000 employees and retail stores in 20 countries.