Lily Kanter
Lily Kanter co-founded Serena & Lily in 2003 and led the company as CEO for more than a decade, scaling it from a nursery-bedding startup into a national direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand.
Lily Kanter's Bio
Lily Kanter co-founded Serena & Lily in 2003 and served as CEO for more than a decade, growing the company from a small nursery-bedding concept into a widely recognized luxury home brand.
A Kansas City native, Kanter earned an accounting degree from Arizona State University and an executive MBA from Pepperdine University. She spent years in corporate technology and retail, including leadership roles at IBM, Deloitte & Touche, and Microsoft, where she helped plan the company's first retail store. She retired from Microsoft in 2000 and opened Mill Valley Baby & Kids before joining forces with Serena Dugan.
Kanter stepped down as CEO in 2016 and later launched Boon Supply Co. and Averylily Studio.
Career Timeline
1990 — BS Accounting, Arizona State University
Completed undergraduate degree in accounting.
1994 — Early career at IBM and Deloitte at IBM / Deloitte & Touche
Held management roles in corporate technology and consulting.
1995 — Executive MBA, Pepperdine University
Completed executive MBA.
1995 — Microsoft executive
Led retail planning and wrote business plan for microsoftSF.
2000 — Retired from Microsoft
Left Microsoft at age 35 after about five years.
2001 — Opened Mill Valley Baby & Kids
Launched a high-end baby and kids home decor store.
2003 — Co-founded Serena & Lily
Officially launched the brand with Serena Dugan.
2008 — Shifted direct-to-consumer at Serena & Lily
Added e-commerce and catalog channels after wholesale disruption.
2016 — Stepped down as CEO at Serena & Lily
Moved to the board after more than a decade as CEO.
2018 — Launched Boon Supply Co.
Started next consumer venture after Serena & Lily.
2023 — Cofounded Averylily Studio
Co-founded new brand in Hawaii.
