Pleasant Rowland (born Pleasant Williams Thiele ; March 8, 1941) is an American educator, reporter, writer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Rowland is famous for creating the American Girl brand. He is also renowned for his efforts to redevelop the historic property in Aurora, New York, where he created a partnership with his Wells College alma mater.
He has been married to philanthropist Jerome Frautschi since 1977. The Frautschi family owns a Webcrafters printing company.
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Rowland was born in Chicago and grew up in Bannockburn, a northern suburb of Chicago. He is the eldest of three sisters and a brother. Her sister Barbara Whitney Carr is president of the Chicago Horticultural Society. His father was Edward Thiele, a Chicago advertising executive who eventually became president of Leo Burnett's advertising agency.
After graduating from Wells College in 1962, Rowland embarked on the first of several careers. From 1962 to 1968, he was a school teacher in several states. He was a news reporter and newscaster for the ABC KGO-TV station from 1968 to 1971.
Rowland left the industry to pursue a career as a textbook writer. For several years he was involved in the writing and publication of children's textbooks. She is also the publisher of Children's Magazine Guides . In the 1970s, Rowland created a comprehensive language art program, called Starting Reading, Writing, and Listening . It is informally known as a "letter book", and is designed to be used for kindergarten and first class students. Over the years the program has undergone several revisions and updates.
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Careers
In 1986 Rowland founded the Pleasant Company, which produced dolls, books, and accessories "American Girls". Rowland was inspired to create the American Girl brand because of his longtime interest in history. A visit to Colonial Williamsburg led him to think that young girls might be interested in history through the identification of dolls based on historic periods. Each doll is designed with a story that puts it in a certain period of historical time. Books, clothing, and other accessories are marketed separately for each doll.
The company's growth is fast as it adds dolls, books, clothing to dolls and women, and many other accessories, such as dollhouses and children's furniture. In marketing synergy, the company creates stores in major cities, shows, and movies planned around their dolls and accessories. For example, parents can pay to the spare room in the shops for the American Girls party for their daughters and friends. The shop has a public restaurant where moms and daughters can enjoy tea or other food.
In 1998, Rowland sold the Pleasant Company (now American Girl) to Mattel for $ 700 million. Based in Middleton, Wisconsin, American Girl reached $ 350 million in sales in 2001. In 2008, US sales came second after Barbie dolls.
In 2001, Rowland bought a bankrupt MacKenzie-Childs retailer, based in Aurora, NY. After Rowland restructured the company's management team in 2006, MacKenzie-Childs became profitable. In 2008, Rowland sold MacKenzie-Childs to Lee Feldman and Howard Cohen - owners of part of Twin Lakes Capital.
In 2004 Rowland founded the Rowland Reading Foundation to promote the Rowland Reading Program.
On September 22, 2010, Rowland received the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin.
Philanthropy
Rowland and her husband Jerome Frautschi are the principal philanthropists in Madison, Wisconsin. Frautschi is from the Madison area, where his family has lived for generations.
They have made substantial contributions to Madison; together, they make one of the biggest contributions, a $ 205 million prize for building Overture Art Center, performing arts and a civilian center. Initially, their donations are anonymous; later, the donor was revealed to be Jerome Frautschi. (Frautschi is said to have financed the project entirely with personal funds from the sale of his stake in American Girl.)
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External links
- Wells College biography of Pleasant Rowland
- Company Biography Fun for Pleasant Rowland
- MacKenzie-Childs
- CNN article on the Aurora controversy
- The Rowland Reading Foundation website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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