Arar Han is Co-founder and Co-CEO of Sabot Family Companies, the long-term holding company she co-founded with Shayne Fitz-Coy in 2016. She leads conversations with business owners considering a sale to the firm.
I’m an experienced retail customer (aren’t we all). I’m also a former retail turnaround analyst. I aim to help retailers compete better by reporting on my observations, throughout the United States and abroad.
Business ownership and operating experience
I currently serve as Co-CEO of Sabot Family Companies, which operates and holds good businesses, and sometimes does turnarounds.
Sabot Family Companies acquires and operates businesses in the United States with family capital. Arar leads seller conversations; Shayne leads operating oversight and leadership development. Their responsibilities are described on the company leadership page.
Arar and Shayne invested in ResponseLink in 2013, before founding Sabot Family Companies. Arar served as Co-CEO of the medical-alert business; the investment ended in 2025. Sabot Family Companies acquired Rustic Pathways in December 2019, and Shayne became CEO in January 2020.
Explore Arar’s ownership and operating experience.
Case writing and working with operators
I began my career as a curriculum writer and researcher of turnaround retail stories at Harvard Business School, working exclusively with the Professor of Retail. I also worked for the original Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread, as Special Assistant on a range of projects.
After her MBA, Arar returned to case writing at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Her coauthored work includes Note on Hiring and Facebook 2012. At Harvard Business School, she coauthored Levendary Café: The China Challenge with Christopher Bartlett; the case received a 2013 Case Centre award.
The selected case-writing bibliography identifies the works, coauthors, publication years and original institutional records.
Writing about identity and management
Arar co-edited Asian American X: An Intersection of Twenty-First Century Asian American Voices with John Hsu. University of Michigan Press published the book in 2004. Her essays also explore motherhood, Korean and Asian American identity, and everyday experiences with businesses.
Her management writing includes an approach to helping new employees make the transition from school to work: The Four Resets for Entry-Level Workers. Writing & Ideas brings these interests together.
Education and background
I earned my MBA at Stanford and my BA at Boston College, where I serve on the Board of Regents.
Arar attended Boston College from 2000 to 2003, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and Applied Psychology (Human Development), summa cum laude. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society. She later earned her MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Born in South Korea, Arar moved to the United States with her family when her father pursued a doctorate in Computer Science. She attended American public schools and gave the student commencement address at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education in 2003. In 2002, an Advanced Study Grant supported her cross-cultural research on preschool-aged children.
Credentials and affiliations provides the dated education and service record.
Community
Arar has supported higher education, ASPIRE, Project Safe, the California Youth Symphony, Menlo Church and individuals undertaking international Christian missions. The proceeds from Asian American X have been donated.
A personal note
I am interested in life design. Here I am at an event I helped organize for Stanford MBA Women.
My happy place is a remote island in Japan. (I don’t actually like all – any?? – of those little pastries but don’t they look pretty?)
Nice to meet you!
Sources and supporting records
- Sabot role and responsibilities. The company leadership record names Arar and Shayne as co-founders and Co-CEOs, dates the founding to 2016, and explains their respective responsibilities. This is Sabot’s own account.
- Ownership chronology. Sabot’s ownership record dates the founders’ ResponseLink investment to 2013-2025 and the Rustic Pathways acquisition to December 2019, followed by Shayne’s CEO appointment in January 2020.
- ResponseLink leadership. Trilogy Equity Partners’ portfolio record identifies Arar as ResponseLink Co-CEO. It supports her role in the business; the investment’s end date comes from Sabot’s ownership record above.
- Panera experience. Ron Shaich’s account of working with Arar identifies her as his former special assistant and speechwriter at Panera.
- Stanford case-writing credits. The original Stanford records identify Arar’s coauthorship of Note on Hiring and Facebook 2012. The selected bibliography provides collaborators and publication details.
- Levendary Café recognition. Harvard Business School’s 2013 award announcement identifies the case, Christopher Bartlett and Arar Han as coauthors, and the Economics, Politics and Business Environment award category.
- Asian American X. The University of Michigan Press catalog credits Arar Han and John Hsu as editors and dates publication to August 2004.
- Education and service. Boston College’s current Board of Regents roster lists Arar Han ’03. Her credentials and affiliations record provides the education and service history in her own account.
The personal background, community involvement and reflections on this page are Arar’s own account.