She is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science and of Cornell University with a Master of Science in chemistry. She began her career at General Foods Corporation and later worked as an investment banker for Rothschild Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. In 1991 she joined Barnes & Noble Inc. as Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and in 1993, before the flotation of Barnes & Noble, became Chief Financial Officer. In 1995, she was appointed Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Barnes & Noble. At the present time, she is CEO of Akim, Inc., an American investment and consulting firm, which she joined in 1997. She is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Coach Inc. (where she chairs the Audit Committee), and the Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Group. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors of Oakley Inc., Benckiser N.V., The Body Shop International Plc and Barnes & Noble, Inc. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex, S.A.) on 20 April 2001 and re-elected during the AGM held on 18 July 2006 and 19 July 2011.