BROOKLYN, NY.- The Brooklyn Museum announced its inaugural Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) initiative with the appointment of retail innovator Rachel Shechtman. Each two-year EIR program is designed to help grow a culture of experimentation and entrepreneurialism in the Museum and to provide professionals who work outside of arts institutions an opportunity to both learn and contribute expertise.




As visitor and consumer behavior is rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly digitally integrated, the EIR program is an opportunity to look outside of traditional museum business models for ways to enhance the visitor experience. In line with the inaugural theme, “The Museum of the Future, Today,” Shechtman will support a culture of research and development, entrepreneurial thinking, and innovation, with a focus on introducing different industries, skill sets, and relationships to the Museum. She will work with staff across departments to test new ways to engage with visitors, bringing in external partners to work with the Museum’s retail and programming teams. In addition, she will explore different modes of storytelling to further a narrative-driven approach. Shechtman’s two-year role will be treated as a prototype, resulting in a framework for future EIRs at the Museum.

Shechtman founded the concept store STORY, which reinvented the retail experience by changing its products, customer experience, and theme every six to eight weeks. She is known industry-wide as a disruptive thought leader and skilled entrepreneur with a keen eye for redesigning business models to deliver a high-quality consumer experience.

“As we plan for the future, including our upcoming two hundredth anniversary, our EIR program is an opportunity to bring new ideas and energy to the ways we connect with audiences,” says Anne Pasternak, Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum. “With her explosive creativity, Shechtman will provide a boost of fuel for our jetpack!”

“I have spent much of my career in environments that embrace the ethos of a ‘living lab,’ and this opportunity is just that. I am energized by the opportunity to learn much more about the art world at such an iconic institution as the Brooklyn Museum, while facilitating new ideas and partnerships,” shared Shechtman.

Rachel Shechtman is a retail innovator and the founder of STORY, a concept store known for its editorial, ever-changing approach to retail. She is a consummate entrepreneur who is constantly seeking opportunities to reinvent industries through the lens of consumer experience.

In April 2018, Shechtman sold STORY to Macy’s, Inc., where she served as Brand Experience Officer until July 2020. During her time at Macy’s, Shechtman successfully launched two businesses for the brand. She also built a cross-functional team of more than 150 colleagues who, thanks to Shechtman’s strategic design, were able to generate results effectively, efficiently, and nimbly within the larger, traditional operation.

Shechtman has been named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s and Crain’s 40 under 40, and Ad Age’s 50 Most Creative. The American Advertising Federation inducted Shechtman into its Advertising Hall of Achievement, and in 2018, the Aspen Institute named her a Henry Crown Fellow. Shechtman sat on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation until 2020 and currently sits on the Board of Directors of CAMP, where she is also an active adviser.

In July 2020, Shechtman returned to her consulting career, working on a range of engagements at such retailers as Lululemon, Sonos, LVMH, and HODINKEE. She has since expanded her work to cultural institutions, including the Drawing Center, the Momentary, the Apollo Theater, and the Brooklyn Museum.