Mara Urshel

President Kleinfeld Bridal

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Mara Urshel is President and co-owner of Kleinfeld Bridal, the Manhattan bridal salon that became a household name through TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress”. She bought the business in 1999 with Ronnie Rothstein, its CEO, and the actor Wayne Rogers, and came to it with more than three decades in luxury merchandising, including twenty years at Saks Fifth Avenue where she rose to Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager. Her route into retail was unusual: she trained as a biochemist and worked as a research chemist before moving into fashion.

Career Highlights

• Graduated from the University of Michigan in biochemistry and worked as a senior chemist and in cancer research at the National Institutes of Health before moving into retail.
• Became a buyer at Garfinckel’s department store in Washington, DC.
• Spent two decades at Saks Fifth Avenue, becoming Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager over divisions that Kleinfeld says produced 41% of Saks’ volume and 60% of its profit.
• Led the opening of 28 Saks stores and the development of its private label brands.
• Held executive positions at Casual Corner Group and Geoffrey Beene, and sat on the merchandising board of Japan’s Seibu Department Stores as its only American member.
• Bought Kleinfeld Bridal in 1999 with Ronnie Rothstein and Wayne Rogers, and directed the development and launch of its 35,000 square foot Manhattan flagship.

Professional Journey

Urshel began in science. According to a 2019 NextTribe profile, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biochemistry, worked as a senior chemist at a pharmaceutical company in Chicago and then on cancer research at the National Institutes of Health in Washington. An after-hours job selling couture dresses at Lord & Taylor led her into fashion: she joined Garfinckel’s department store in Washington and within three years was a buyer.

The core of her career was at Saks Fifth Avenue, where she spent two decades. NextTribe describes her as the first woman to reach vice president and senior vice president there. Kleinfeld’s account of that period names her Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager over divisions responsible for 41% of Saks’ volume and 60% of its profit, credits her with leading the opening of 28 stores and building Saks’ private label business, and says she introduced designers including Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan, Perry Ellis and Michael Kors to the market early in their careers. After Saks she held executive positions at Casual Corner Group and the Geoffrey Beene Company, and served as the only American on the merchandising board of Seibu Department Stores in Japan.

In 1999 she, Ronnie Rothstein and Wayne Rogers bought Kleinfeld, then a Brooklyn bridal business founded in 1941. She became President, with Rothstein as CEO. The company credits her with directing the development and launch of its 35,000 square foot Manhattan flagship, with a focus on customer service, and with expanding the Kleinfeld brand nationally and internationally. The store became the setting for “Say Yes to the Dress”, and by 2019 NextTribe reported more than 1,500 wedding dresses from some 75 designers and more than 250 employees.

Education

University of Michigan

Biochemistry. The degree type and year are not stated in the sources read.