Meet The Man Behind The Rise of Victoria’s Secret PINK
To get the best training for a career in business, Dent turned to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Dent credits the historically black university for fostering his high level of confidence and preparing him for the world of corporate America. “We had a very novel professional development curriculum,” he said. “On top of academics and internships, you learned business writing and speaking, and you went to three or four receptions a week to learn how to engage with business people in a non-corporate environment.”
After his first two semesters at FAMU, Dent landed an internship with Ford Motor Company, where he later launched his career in 1993. “At the time, Ford had five of the top ten selling vehicles in America so it was a hot place to be,” reminisced Dent. “I could see my whole career laid out in front of me—I thought, ‘I’m going to be the CFO of Ford, I’m going to run for mayor of Detroit…”
Yet, by his fourth year with the company, Dent became restless. He believed that he had done significantly well at Ford and began evaluating his options. At that point, Dent realized that he would not be able to advance further within the company. “I thought, ‘do I want to sit here in this job and wait five years, not because of my talent, but because of time since that’s how things worked,’” recalled Dent. “I decided I was too young in my career to sit around when I felt that I could contribute more.”
So he moved on. In 1998, Dent became the US Controller for Sales and Marketing at Volvo Trucks North America. At 27-years-old, he became the youngest controller at Volvo. But his time with Volvo was cut short when the company decided to sell their heavy truck business. Word through the grapevine was that many of the leaders under that branch would be laid off. Though Dent had no doubt that he would not be given a pink slip due to his skill in finance, he still felt it was time to pursue another opportunity.
That next opportunity was with Limited Brands, which was seeking prospective employees with strong financial backgrounds. In the early years of his career with the company, Dent rose through the ranks and served in multiple capacities, including director of finance for Limited Brands, and director of strategic planning for Bath and Body Works. In 2005, Dent was one of a few people selected by the chairman of Limited Brands to join the PINK team. At the time, PINK had very few resources dedicated to the brand.
“There were two merchants, one of which is the current CEO, a couple of planners, a marketing person and a PR analyst,” explained Dent. “There were less than six or seven people dedicated to PINK and the brand was being offered in about 300 stores. The business was somewhere in the $300 to $400 million territory. Very few people knew what PINK was at the time it started.”
Not to mention, company insiders had diverse opinions about the brand’s potential. “The chairman of Limited Brands was excited about it [but] the CEO of Victoria’s Secret didn’t like it and didn’t get it,” said Dent, who was initially unsure that he would be interested in the job. However, after careful consideration, Dent realized the professional growth he would attain in the position.
