Gass earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1990 and an MBA from the
University of Washington. She joined consumer goods company
Procter and Gamble in 1990, where she worked in product development, before moving to
Starbucks in 1996 as manager of its
Frappuccino blended iced coffee brand. At Starbucks, she was credited with turning Frappuccino into a $2 billion business, and her other company work included growing the company's
Seattle's Best brand, now owned by
Nestlé, and later led the retailer's expansion in Europe as Starbucks'
EMEA president. In 2013, Gass joined department store Kohl's as chief customer officer, and in 2015 became the company's chief merchandising and customer officer. In 2017, she was promoted to CEO-elect. In May 2018, Gass officially became Kohl's CEO. She was also named to Fortune's 2018 Businesssperson of the Year list. In 2019, the
National Retail Federation named Gass as the recipient of its Visionary 2020 award, awarded to the nation's top retail executive. In 2019, Gass was elected to the board of directors of
PepsiCo. In November 2022, it was announced that Gass would be stepping down as Kohl's CEO by early December to become the CEO-in-waiting for Levi Strauss & Co. After one year as president of the Levi’s brand, she became the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. in early 2024. Gass is a member of
The Business Council. ==Personal life==