50 Women to Watch Honoree
Former U.S. Department of Commerce
New York, NY
2025 Cohort
Jennifer Knight is a seasoned operating executive and board member with more than 20 years of hands-on leadership experience across textile and materials manufacturing, global supply chains, and complex industrial operations. She has served as CEO, President, and COO of multiple U.S.-based textile businesses spanning performance fabrics, narrow fabrics, and vertically integrated manufacturing platforms, including leading growth, operational turnarounds, and post-acquisition integrations in both family-owned and private equity-backed environments. Her experience includes restarting complex manufacturing operations, expanding value-added product lines, rationalizing capacity, improving margins through lean manufacturing initiatives, and navigating global sourcing across the U.S., China, and Central America. As President and COO of American Woolen Company, she led the restart and modernization of a highly technical U.S. textile mill, developed new engineered fabric programs, secured multi-year contracts with the U.S. military, and worked closely with OEM customers on performance-driven product development. In addition to her operating background, Jennifer brings...
Jennifer Knight is a seasoned operating executive and board member with more than 20 years of hands-on leadership experience across textile and materials manufacturing, global supply chains, and complex industrial operations.
She has served as CEO, President, and COO of multiple U.S.-based textile businesses spanning performance fabrics, narrow fabrics, and vertically integrated manufacturing platforms, including leading growth, operational turnarounds, and post-acquisition integrations in both family-owned and private equity-backed environments.
Her experience includes restarting complex manufacturing operations, expanding value-added product lines, rationalizing capacity, improving margins through lean manufacturing initiatives, and navigating global sourcing across the U.S., China, and Central America.
As President and COO of American Woolen Company, she led the restart and modernization of a highly technical U.S. textile mill, developed new engineered fabric programs, secured multi-year contracts with the U.S. military, and worked closely with OEM customers on performance-driven product development.
In addition to her operating background, Jennifer brings deep strategic and governance experience. She has advised private equity firms on diligence, management assessment, and value creation in textile and industrial manufacturing businesses, and has served on multiple corporate boards within the sector.
She also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, overseeing policy and competitiveness initiatives across textiles, materials, and critical minerals, providing insight into trade policy, tariffs, industrial reshoring, and supply chain resilience.
In July 2025, Jennifer was named as one of the 50 Women to Watch for Boards by 50/50 Women on Boards. She was also named to the Financial Times Agenda “Future 50” list in October 2025, recognizing board-ready directors prepared to help public companies navigate emerging risks, growth, and transformation.
Jennifer holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.A. from Brown University. She enjoys open water swimming, hiking, biking and gardening and splits her time between Manhattan and Orient, NY.
