Born in Florida in 1949, Maxine graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She planned to pursue a career as a lawyer, but first she needed to earn money to pay for law school. She took a job as a retail trainee with May Department Stores in Washington, D.C., and found she enjoyed working in the retail environment. She worked her way into management. Promoted to the corporate offices in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in 1976, Maxine was involved in every aspect of the business, from planning and research to marketing and product development. After 19 years with May, Maxine became president of U.S. shoe retailer Payless ShoeSource in 1992.

With career success came wealth, and Maxine was able to build a substantial financial cushion for herself with stock options and a considerable salary. But she didn’t find satisfaction in wealth alone, and found that her “psychic income account was nearly empty.” She wanted to move out of the corporate office and get back in touch with the customers she was serving. As a child, shopping at certain stores was an event, something to be excited about, and she wanted to recreate that environment. In 1996, she left Payless, ostensibly to retire.

She doesn’t describe the concept of creating Build-A-Bear as an “aha moment,” but Maxine does know the moment the idea came to her. While shopping for Beanie Babies with a friend’s daughter in 1996, the girl noted that the toys would be easy to make. While she meant making them at home as a craft, Maxine saw something greater: the Build-A-Bear Workshop. At first, Maxine had a difficult time convincing people that, unlike the Beanie Babies of the ‘90s, her concept was not merely a fad, but one that had incredible staying power. Today, the shopping and entertainment Build-A-Bear Workshop concept has grown to more than 400 stores worldwide. Build-A-Bear had sold over 160 million bears, as well as accessories and clothing for each. Maxine was inducted into the Global Business Hall of Fame in 2006.