Trish Donnelly, CEO of Urban Outfitters, Inc., has joined the board of directors of eponym, the fast-growing platform that empowers contemporary brands including Steven Alan, alice + olivia, and Jason Wu to design and distribute eyewear directly to consumers under their own label.

Donnelly was appointed CEO of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) last March after two years as the retailer's North American president. Prior to joining Urban Outfitters, she served as president of Steven Alan, where she spearheaded the company's successful retail store expansion, e-commerce and wholesale growth, and showroom development. She also served as executive vice president of J. Crew Direct and spent twelve years in merchandising at Ralph Lauren.

“I've admired the unique business model that Andrew has built, both as a former client and a supporter of the eponym brands. It's exciting to work with Andrew and his team in an advisory capacity to help scale and further develop this opportunity.”

In addition to designing and distributing eyewear for its brand partners, eponym also manages all product fulfillment, customer service, and CRM, and invests in advertising to help grow each partner brand’s market share. Since the launch of Steven Alan Optical in partnership with eponym in 2013, Steven Alan has seen its eyewear sales double each year, and it has opened shops with plans to open five to ten more in the next five years.

“Trish Donnelly’s leadership in re-establishing Urban Outfitters as a premiere destination for young adults, has reinforced her reputation as one of the retail industry's most gifted leaders” said Andrew Lipovsky, Founder and CEO of eponym. “We are thrilled to have Trish join eponym’s board of directors. She shares our vision for transforming the eyewear industry and her experience and expertise will be a tremendous asset as the company continues to grow.

About eponym

eponym is an innovative platform that empowers brands to create, design, and distribute eyewear directly to consumers under their own label. eponym’s novel approach to licensing offers brands a greater share in profits, more control over an integrated brand experience across channels, a more collaborative design process, access to valuable customer data, and significant marketing investments to accelerate growth. The eponym team is dedicated to transforming the eyewear industry with high-quality, branded eyewear at a great value for consumers, and a simple, friendly purchase experience. Today the eponym portfolio includes alice + olivia, Classic Specs, Jason Wu, Steven Alan and Ottavo. Founded in 2010, eponym’s investors include Sam Altman, Alexis Ohanian, and Tenfore Holdings. For more information, visit: www.eponymous.co/.