Ron Klein is chairman and chief executive of New York-based Macy’s East, whose fabled flagship in Herald Square, Manhattan is the world’s largest department store.

As head of the biggest division of Macy’s Inc., Klein has guided Macy’s East as it has grown from a 104-unit, $4 billion chain, to a group of 250 stores across 20 states with $9 billion in revenue.

Klein graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in economics and went on to earn his MBA from New York University. He landed his first job in 1974 as a buyer for the Bloomingdale’s division of Macy’s (formerly known as Federated Department Stores). Klein rose to divisional merchandise manager before leaving Bloomingdale’s in 1983 to take a vp/dmm post at Saks Fifth Avenue. Two years later he returned to his first employer, where he held various merchandising positions.

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Klein was chairman of Federated’s Stern’s division until it closed in 2001. He then moved to Federated’s Atlanta-based Rich’s/Lazarus/Goldsmith division as chairman and ceo. In 2003, Klein oversaw the integration of the Rich’s/Lazarus/Goldsmith group into Macy’s. He took his current post, chairman and ceo of Macy’s East in 2004.

Klein champions localization to provide product offerings that are tailored to the needs and preferences of individual markets. This corporate initiative is dubbed, “My Macy’s.”