Betsy McLaughlin


Betsy McLaughlin is an American businesswoman who served as the CEO of Hot Topic from 2003 to 2011.

Education

McLaughlin was born in 1962 in Orange County, California. She attended Costa Mesa High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.

Career

Prior to serving as CEO, McLaughlin worked for Anchor Blue Clothing Company and The Broadway in finance, merchandising, and operations roles.
In 2003, McLaughlin succeeded Hot Topic founder Orv Madden as CEO of the company. In 2001, McLaughlin founded the second Hot Topic division called Torrid, a plus-size retail chain aimed at young women.
During McLaughlin's tenure as CEO, the corporation was included on the Forbes list of “200 Hot Companies”, Fortune “100 Fastest Growing Companies”, Bloomberg Businessweek's “Hot Growth Companies”, and Fortune's “100 Best Companies to Work for”. McLaughlin was selected by Investor's Business Daily as one of the “Top 5 Business Leaders of 2003” and "Top 10 CEOs with Vision", by Ad Age as one of the “Marketing 50”, and in 2005, was named by Institutional Investor as one of the “Best CEOs in America”.
McLaughlin has received a number of awards for her "think outside the box" approach to management, specifically the recruiting and training of a primarily young work force to manage brick and mortar locations. She is also known for developing a growth culture built on exceeding expectations of both customers and team members.
In 2011, McLaughlin resigned from Hot Topic. McLaughlin now sits on the board of Pinkberry and Noodles & Company. She also consults on branding, marketing, leadership and organization development for firms in the consumer sector. McLaughlin also sat on the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.