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Pleasanton-based Ross Stores, Inc. announced today that its Chairman Emeritus Stuart G. Moldaw died on May 24 following a brief illness. He was 81 years old.
Mr. Moldaw founded Ross Dress for Less in 1982. He served as Chairman of the Board from August 1982 until March 1993 and since then has remained actively involved with the company as a board member and chairman emeritus of Ross Stores, a Fortune 500 company.
Ross Stores, which is headquartered in Pleasanton in the CarrAmerica Center, is the nation’s second largest off-price retailer.
“I have had the privilege of working closely with Stuart for almost 30 years,” Ross Stores Chairman Norman Ferber said. “He was an unforgettable man–a visionary, entrepreneur, leader and philanthropist.”
Mr. Moldaw was considered the driving force behind the ultimate success of Ross Stores. From the original six Ross Dress for Less stores that were opened in 1982, the company has grown to over 900 locations in 27 states and employs over 40,000.
In addition to Ross Stores, he was a founding investor and chairman emeritus of the Gymboree Corporation, which today operates more than 585 stores across the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Moldaw also co-founded U.S. Venture Partners, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm.
In addition to his business ventures, Mr. Moldaw served on the boards of numerous San Francisco Bay Area non-profit agencies and organizations, including the Moldaw-Zaffaroni Boys and Girls Club of East Palo Alto, REDF, Communities in Schools, the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and the San Francisco Urban League. He also was a member of the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
He is survived by his wife Phyllis, two daughters and four grandchildren.
– Jeb Bing
– Jeb Bing
