Maxine Clark (née Kasselman, born March 6, 1949, in Coral Gables, Florida)[1] is the founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, an American retailer that sells customizable teddy bears and other stuffed animals.

In 2006, she published her first book “The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart”.

After college, she worked at Hecht's, a division of the May Company department store chain, and in 1976 was promoted to the corporate offices in St. Louis, Missouri.

[5] In 1997, Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop after being inspired during a shopping trip by a friend's 10-year-old daughter when they couldn't find a Beanie Baby they were looking for.

[6][7] In 2013, Clark, retired from Build-A-Bear, turning over the CEO's role to Sharon Price John.