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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC RYAN ANDERSON M arigay McKee walks into her newly remodeled meeting space and makes herself comfortable on a sofa. She's wearing one of the sur- realist shift dresses from Stella McCartney's Spring 2014 collection: It's pink and covered in lips, hearts, and matchstick appliqués. "Stella would like that I wore this," she says, speaking of McCartney as the friend she undoubtedly is. You see, McKee is English, fresh off a 15-year, no-way-but- up career at Harrods, and the new president of Saks Fifth Avenue, where she officially started in Januar y. The storied department store was bought in a $2.9 billion cash deal last July by Canada's Hudson's Bay Company, whose CEO, Richard Baker, thought McKee was just the per- son to take the luxury retailer into the future. "It's been full-on, like a grand prix from day one," says McKee, who whizzed through 22 American states in three weeks to take the pulse of every Saks retail market prior to her first day on the job. For a fashion powerhouse now running one of the country's most cele- brated retail brands, McKee has had an unorthodox career path. Her first job out of London's Middlesex University was teaching secondary school, a time she remembers with great fondness. "That experience taught me how to relate to and develop people," she says, "and how to—in a big group—find the person who stands out or the person who has something to give." Five years into her teaching career, McKee was recruited to join Estée Lauder's training program as an instructor in Spain. "At a party one New Yea r's Eve," she reca lls, "a headhunter approached me a nd sa id, 'You speak f luent English, Spanish, French, and Italian. You've been a teacher, and you've got your university degree. We need someone like you in the training department.' I jokingly told the guy I would join him if he would pay me double. T hat wa s act ua lly how I got into cosmetics. It was a money deal!" McKee rose quick ly at E stée L auder a nd was soon offered the opportunity to move to t he St ates. I nstead she ret u r ned to London a nd joined Fenw ick, a Br it ish depa r t ment store. "I was a junior buyer, a fashion buyer, and from there I started to do fashion, acces- sor ies, a nd cosmet ics," she says. "A nd t hen Ha r rods ca lled me to head up it s beaut y division. In 15 years I had seven promotions. Every two years I had a new challenge." The key to her steady ascendance? McKee was credited with bringing fresh thinking and modernity to the legendary store, which appointed her chief merchant in 2011. She changed the fashion mix, introducing edgier desig ners and one-of-a-kind pieces while championing young London- What's in Store SAKS FIFTH AVENUE'S PRESIDENT, MARIGAY MCKEE, GIVES FASHIONSAVVY LAS VEGANS STYLE TO LOOK FORWARD TO. BY LAUREN SHERMAN VIEW FROM THE TOP continued on page 58 " We will do a lot of firsts over the next couple of years that will hopefully leave the customer breathless." MARIGAY MCKEE VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 57 Superlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES 056-058_V_SP_PowerStrip_MayJune_14.indd 57 4/21/14 3:22 PM