Looking to the Future with Villanova's Strategic Plan

James V. O’Donnell ’63 VSB
After graduating from Villanova
and finishing a stint in the U.S.
Army, James V. O’Donnell ’63
VSB found himself with three
job offers. One was from Gulf Oil, another
from Allstate Insurance and the third from
Sears, Roebuck & Company.
O’Donnell chose Sears, and the rest is
retail industry history. Today, he is CEO
of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., one
of the top clothing retailers in the country,
with 950 stores in the United States
and Canada.
He has also been named to Villanova
University’s Board of Trustees. When he
received the news from the Rev. Peter M.
Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., ’75 A&S,
University president, “I told him it was
an incredible opportunity.”
When O’Donnell asked Father
Donohue why he had been selected, “he
said that I was innovative and I look at
problem solving in a unique way. He then
joked, ‘It’s also because you dress differently,’”
O’Donnell laughs. “Working at
American Eagle, I’m always wearing jeans
and a sports coat.”
“Villanova was the launching pad”
O’Donnell says that as an undergraduate
he felt the University really cared about
him both as a student and as a person.
“Villanova was the launching pad in
terms of preparing me for the next steps in
both the business world as well as the personal
arena,” he says. “I don’t know what
I would have done without it.”
When he joined Sears, he entered a
competitive, comprehensive training
program based at its venerated headquarters
on Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard.
That training—along with his
Villanova education—gave O’Donnell the
strong leadership and operating disciplines
he has become known for in his career.
“Villanova gave me the basis for academic
discipline, and Sears gave me the
foundation for good business discipline,”
he notes.
In his first seven years with Sears,
he was promoted six times. At age 35,
O’Donnell left Sears to run a retail
company in New York, N.Y. In 1980, he
joined Gap Inc., where he was a member
of the Board of Directors and served as
executive vice president and chief operating
officer.
During his time at Gap, O’Donnell
helped oversee the retailer’s transition
from a discount jeans warehouse to a sleek
fashion arbiter. In 2000, he joined American
Eagle Outfitters as chief operating officer
and a member of the Board of Directors,
and in 2003 was named CEO.
American Eagle currently sponsors the
women’s volleyball team at the University.
Two of O’Donnell’s children are alumni—
Susan O’Donnell ’89 A&S, ’93 G.S. and
Jennifer O’Donnell ’00 A&S.
His firm also hires Villanova students
and graduates both as interns and full-time
employees. “We’ve been the beneficiary of
some top-notch students,” he says.
O’Donnell looks forward to helping
guide Villanova’s future. “It’s an exciting
time to be on the Board. All of Villanova’s
strategic initiatives are right on target. I’m
extremely gratified to be a part of it.”
“It’s an exciting time to be on
the Board. All of Villanova’s
strategic initiatives are right on
target. I’m extremely gratified
to be a part of it.”
Summer 2010 9