David Ansel’s practice focuses on middle-market private equity transactions, including the representation of equity sponsor groups and mezzanine lenders. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions; fund formation and portfolio investments; corporate finance; and general corporate matters.

 

Mr. Bell has broad experience across a wide range of industries and topics, advising senior executives on strategic issues in North America, Europe, and Latin America for over 25 years. His specialties include restaurants, consumer products, retail, and healthcare. Mr. Bell’s areas of deep expertise include development, international strategies, marketing effectiveness, pricing architecture, competitive economics, SG&A optimization, supply chain, and distribution. Prior to joining Parthenon, Mr. Bell was a senior professional at Mars & Co., after beginning his career at Bain & Company. Mr. Bell holds a B.A. in Economics, with high honors, from Haverford College, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

 

David Blumberg is Head of Strategic Development for Iconix Brand Group. He joined the Company in November 2006 as a consultant overseeing the Company’s mergers and acquisitions activities and started his present position in January 2009. Prior to joining the Iconix Brand Group, Mr. Blumberg was a full time consultant during 2005 through November 2006 to LF(1937) Management Ltd., providing advice regarding its related companies’ North American mergers and acquisitions, including those by Li & Fung Limited/ LF USA- the world’s largest trading company focused on global supply chain management. Prior to joining Li & Fung, among other positions Mr. Blumberg from 1996-1999 was President of the Broker – Dealer, Managing Director in its investment banking group and the first employee of Wit Capital, Inc. the world’s first online investment bank, and from 1981-1993 a Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Merrill Lynch Interfunding Inc. and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets- Investment Bank, respectively. Mr Blumberg received a Bachelor of Science, cum laude Economics from Colgate University in 1981 and a MBA Corporate Finance from New York University in 1987. Mr Blumberg is the father of three sons, married and living in Greenwich CT.

 

Prior to joining Goode Partners, Mr. Bonoff was a Managing Director in the Private Equity/Special Situations group at Angelo Gordon. During his 12 year private equity career, Mr. Bonoff has participated in investments in 15 portfolio companies and five add-on acquisitions totaling more than $500 million of invested equity capital.

At Angelo Gordon, Mr. Bonoff was responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities, structuring and executing new transactions and monitoring certain of the firm's investments. Mr. Bonoff led the firm’s private equity investing efforts in the retail, restaurant, healthcare and building products sectors. Mr. Bonoff also co-led the group’s program of marketing to deal sources and intermediaries.

Prior to joining Angelo Gordon, Mr. Bonoff was a Principal in the Consumer/Retail group at Apax Partners. Mr. Bonoff joined Apax in 2005 as a result of a merger with Saunders Karp & Megrue, where Mr. Bonoff had worked as an investment professional since 2000. While at Saunders Karp & Megrue, Mr. Bonoff focused primarily on investments in the retail, restaurant and consumer products sectors.

Prior to joining SKM, Mr. Bonoff was an investment professional at Patricof & Co. Ventures, where he focused on making early and later stage investments in the consumer and healthcare sectors. Mr. Bonoff began his career at Wasserstein Perella & Co. in the Food and Consumer Products group.

Mr. Bonoff has sat on the boards of directors of Adrenaline Family Entertainment, Comark Inc., Drive America Holdings, Elephant Bar Restaurants, Giftware Holdings, National Home Healthcare, Inc., Souper Salad and Voyager Hospicecare. In addition, Mr. Bonoff has been a board observer for Charlotte Russe Holding and Tommy Hilfiger. Mr. Bonoff also sits on the board of directors of Rosa Mexicano and Independence Care Systems, a not-for-profit healthcare organization.

Mr. Bonoff received a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Mr. Dart is a senior partner and managing director at retail and consumer products consultancy Kurt Salmon and the leader of Kurt Salmon’s strategy and private equity practice. He also co-authored The New Rules of Retail, a guide to succeeding in a rapidly changing retail environment. In his more than twenty years of consulting, Mr. Dart has worked with many of the leaders in the retail and consumer products industry, as well as private equity funds, including Microsoft, Michaels Arts & Crafts, Blackstone, TH Lee and the Carlyle Group. Consulting magazine named him one of their top 25 consultants of 2010.

 

Steve Davis is the President of Rue La La, a leader in the digital private sale space with a membership base of over 3 million. Mr. Davis joined Rue La La in October of 2010.

Prior to joining Rue La La, Mr. Davis served as President, GSI Commerce International from 2007 to 2010, based in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Davis served in various roles upon joining the founding GSI executive team in 2000, including Senior Vice President responsible for Account Management, Product Management, and Marketing. In addition to building GSI into the leader of outsourced e-commerce services, Mr. Davis developed the strategy for and launched GSI’s Marketing Services division, which is currently a Top 15 Interactive Agency as ranked by Ad Age.

Previously, Mr. Davis held a number of management positions at Anheuser-Busch and Just For Feet.

Mr. Davis received his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Delaware. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife, Milsy, and their three children.

 

Greg Ellis is a senior manager at management consulting firm Kurt Salmon. During his 15 years of strategy consulting experience, Mr. Ellis has worked with the leaders of many top retail and consumer products companies and private equity funds. He is a leader in the firm’s Private Equity and Strategy Practice with a particular interest in retail customer experience.

 

Shawn Freeman is currently the SVP and General Manager of the Digital Business for GameStop, the world’s largest specialty video game and entertainment software retailer. In this role, he is responsible for leading the development and management of their digital aggregation and retail strategy, employing a multi-channel approach that embraces GameStop’s more than 6200 stores across the globe as well as the company’s web site, Gamestop.com.

Freeman has almost 20 years of senior management experience building and leading online businesses for several noteworthy companies in a variety of industries, including travel, mobile and live entertainment. Most recently he was president of Chicago-based Ticketsnow.com and senior vice president of resale for Ticketmaster North America. Previously he was CTO for Handango.com, a leading smartphone content retailer, and CIO for Hotels.com, one of the world’s leading online travel sites.

 

Buck Hendrix joined Starbucks Coffee Company in August 1993, and is in the process of retiring from the company over the next few months. In his most recent role as president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, which he assumed in February of 2009, he was responsible for the overall strategic planning, growth, and management of Starbucks operations in EMEA.  In this role, Buck led the significant turnaround of the business in the EMEA region, leading one of the most successful periods ever in the region in 2010.  Under Buck’s leadership the business was also awarded most ethical coffee shop chain in Europe for 2010 in addition to several other country level recognitions. 

Buck transferred to the EMEA region from Starbucks Latin America where he was senior vice president and president of that region for almost five years (2004-2009).  In this role, he led the development the business in Latin America, establishing a strong foundation of success that the region continues to build on today.

Previously, in his role as senior vice president, International Supply Chain, he was responsible for all Supply Chain Operations and Strategy that are part of Starbucks International Business. He led teams based in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Miami and Seattle in support of global markets.

Until January of 2003, as vice president of Starbucks Procurement, Buck was responsible for forecasting, demand and inventory planning and management of all coffee and many non-coffee products. In addition, he oversaw procurement of all of the Starbucks production materials, non-coffee-related products, fresh food and supplies.

Before that, Buck was vice president and general manager of Starbucks Direct Response Business Unit where he was responsible for the division’s profit and loss accountability, inventory planning and management, financial management, marketing, merchandising, order management, customer service and operations. 

Buck brought 12 years of experience in direct marketing management and operations to Starbucks. Prior to joining the company, he was the manager of the Communication Services Division of Milliman and Robertson, Inc, and senior vice president of Gulf American Financial Services marketing division, both Seattle-based consulting companies.

Buck currently resides in Miami, Florida with his partner Maria; and from where he also manages a consulting business part time.  Outside of work, Buck enjoys working in the community, as well as skiing and golf with his son. He is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, with a Bachelor of Arts in General Business and Marketing.  Buck currently resides in Miami, Florida with his partner Maria.

 

Paul is the founder and chief executive officer of ideeli. Since launching the site in 2007,Paul has driven the company’s innovative vision, managing a high-growth business that now delivers carefully-curated, limited-time sales every day across the categories of apparel, accessories, home, beauty, kids, travel and experiences to the site’s nearly 4.5 million U.S. members.

Being a leader in the world of online entrepreneurism is nothing new for Paul. In 1989 he founded Cypress Research, which combined e-commerce with embedded upgrade technology years ahead of the internet. Cypress Shopper, a component of the company’s MegaPhone fax software for Macs and PCs, shipped over 10 million copies to 23 countries. In 1994, he founded Aveo which invented the now pervasive concept of pre-emptive technical support, with its products adopted by Hewlett Packard, Gateway, Dell, Kensington and Logitech. Paul’s third company, Alset, Inc., was founded in 2001 and helped leading brands such as Best Buy and Micro Warehouse use the internet to simultaneously improve service and marketing.
Paul is a co-inventor for two U.S. patents and for ten years served on the board ofVolunteermatch.org where he helped corporations manage their volunteer efforts with thousands of non-profits around the world.

He graduated from Yale University and is a Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute.

 

Carl Johnson will retire from Campbell Soup Company in April, 2011 after a decade as Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer.  In this position, unique in the Consumer Goods & Service Industry, Johnson had direct responsibility for Corporate Strategy, the Global Research & Development/Quality organization, Corporate Marketing Services and e-business.  

Prior to joining Campbell, Johnson was a top executive at Kraft Foods, where he ran three successively larger Kraft divisions.  When he left Kraft in early 2001, he was Executive Vice President, Kraft N.A. and President of the $2.5 Billion New Meals Division.  Carl joined Kraft in February 1992, as Vice President, Strategy for Kraft Foods, USA.  He became General Manager of the Specialty Products Division in 1993, and then General Manager of the Meals Division in 1995.  He was named President of the New Meals Division in 1997 when the former Meals and Enhancers Divisions were consolidated.

Prior to Kraft, Johnson was a senior partner and director of the consumer goods and services consulting practice at Marketing Corporation of America, where his clients included, among others, Kraft, ConAgra, Cadbury Schweppes, Reader’s Digest, and NYNEX.  Before that, he was vice president of worldwide advertising at Polaroid Corporation.  He began his career at the Colgate-Palmolive Company, where he held a series of management positions culminating in Category Manager, Oral Care Products, Colgate’s premier business. 

Johnson is a member of the board of directors of Nautilus, Inc., a leader in fitness products, and of Avedro, Inc., a pioneer in vision correction technology.  Johnson serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis and is a past Executive Committee member of the Board of the Food Products Association, now merged with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. 

Johnson is a Trustee of the Adelphic Educational Fund, Wesleyan University, which grants scholarships and supports educational, literary and artistic programs.  He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Kilts Center for Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, which provides scholarships to top marketing students and helps the school steer its marketing curriculum.  He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University.

Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and his MBA from the University of Chicago. 

 

Lauri Kien Kotcher joined Godiva in February 2008, as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Brand Development and. In this role Lauri is responsible for leading Godiva’s brand and marketing initiatives in the areas of innovation, store design, visual merchandising, packaging and product design, marketing communications, advertising, social media, and public relations.

Lauri joined Godiva from Pfizer Consumer Health Care where she was the head of Global Marketing and was responsible for global marketing and innovation initiatives for a $4 billion division with leading brands including Listerine, Nicorette, Visine, Rogaine, Purell, and Zyrtec. Lauri’s team enhanced product innovation at Pfizer, driving double digit category growth.

Prior to Pfizer, Lauri was a partner at McKinsey and Company, one of the world’s leading general management consulting firms. At McKinsey, Lauri served clients and led teams around the world across a wide range of consumer driven industries including luxury retail and prestige brands, packaged goods and more. Lauri was co-leader of McKinsey’s North American packaged goods practice as well as the leader of McKinsey’s Customer Management, Innovation and M&A Alliance areas.

Lauri earned her BA degree at Princeton University and a combination JD/MBA degree from Stanford University.

 

Kurt Kostur is a 20+ year marketing executive whose career has focused on building customer relationships to drive brand value. In his current role as SVP Marketing for HSN, Kurt leads Category and Brand Marketing, Customer Segmentation/Relationship Management and Strategic Marketing Alliances for the interactive multi-channel retailer. A key area of responsibility is creating brand experiences to drive customer engagement across all of HSN’s digital platforms. Prior to joining HSN in early 2010, Kurt was SVP-Marketing at Universal Orlando Resort where he oversaw Brand Marketing, Advertising, PR, Promotions and E-Commerce. During this time, Kurt spearheaded the marketing behind the physical brand experience of some of today’s most iconic intellectual properties such as The Simpsons, Marvel, Shrek and most recently, the global launch of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Kurt began his career in advertising at the Chicago office of DDB where he developed brand strategy for clients such as Anheuser-Busch and General Mills. He has also held senior marketing posts with Paramount and Bank of America. Kurt received his BA in Communications from Bethany College. He resides in Tampa, FL with his wife and two children.

 

Alan has been with Tumi for eight years where he is responsible for product management as well as marketing.  In addition to developing the merchandising strategies for all categories on a worldwide basis, he is responsible for developing  brand and marketing strategies, and oversees creative services, visual merchandising, PR, and CRM activities.

Prior to Tumi, Alan spent six years at Coach where he created the product management function and crafted strategies to grow the brand through dynamic product development and merchandising.  While at Coach, he also held the role of General Manager of Mark Cross.

Other career highlights include roles at Perry Ellis International as Senior Vice President of Marketing, as well as Vice President of Merchandising and Consumer Direct Marketing at Next Monet, a catalog and internet retailer of fine art prints and original artwork. Alan began his retail career at Saks Fifth Avenue, and has also spent time in the strategic marketing consulting industry while at Marketing Corporation of America.

Alan holds an MBA from Columbia University, and a BA degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in New York City, and is an avid traveler and movie buff.

 

Laure Levin, a Strategy Director for Infogroup, brings 25 years of retail, catalog, and online consumer marketing experience to this Argyle event.  In her role, she supports retailers’ efforts to improve their customer experience by analyzing and impacting the brands, channels, and products which they rely upon for success. Her 13 years of experience as a merchant began at Macy’s within their Executive Development Program and extended to a specialty store chain, a national catalog business, and an online store.  She spent 12 years with Abacus, a division of Epsilon Targeting, most recently as the VP of Analytics, where she consulted with national retailers and direct-marketers on their multi-channel marketing efforts and guided them on statistical and analytical methods for targeting their best customers and prospects across all media and channels.  Ms. Levin holds a BBA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in both Marketing and Small Business Management and Accounting.

 

Jonathan Lynch is a Managing Director in the New York office of CCMP Capital and a member of the firm's Investment Committee. Mr. Lynch is also Head of Investor Relations. He has been responsible for the firm's investments in 1-800-Flowers.com, American Floral Services, ARAMARK Corporation, Centennial Security, Crosstown Traders, Masada Security, Pinnacle Foods Group, Premier Systems, Sentry Security, Quiznos Sub and Vitamin Shoppe Industries. Prior to joining CCMP in 1992, Mr. Lynch was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Prudential Securities.  He serves on the board of directors of Axiom Global, Inc.  Mr. Lynch holds a B.S. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.  Mr. Lynch is past President of the Venture Investors Association of NY (VIANY) and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Georgetown University School of Business.

 

Mrs. Toni Miller joined Boscov's in June 2009 after spending over 27 years with Bass Pro Shops, serving since 2000 as their Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mrs. Miller is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She also attended Missouri State University with a concentration on Finance and Accounting. She completed her MBA from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri and is a Certified Public Accountant.

She has over 30 years of retail experience in finance and operations, having started her career primarily in direct marketing and from there her experience grew into retail stores, food services, hospitality and manufacturing.

She also serves on various retail industry advisory councils including the NRF and NJRMA.  She has served on several non-for-profit and church boards with a passion for organizations working to eliminate poverty from the inside out. She currently serves on the Southern Nazarene University Foundation Board and is an honorary board member with the Victory Mission in Springfield, Missouri.

 

John Mullen was named Vice President, Customer Experience, in January 2011. Reporting to Kevin Peters, President, North America, Mullen leads a company-wide initiative dedicated to enhancing the Office Depot retail shopping experience.  

Mullen brings his passion for retail and strategic analytical skills to this newly formed, cross-functional team.

Mullen previously served as Vice President, Store Operations, a position based out of the Company’s global headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. He joined Office Depot in 2005 as Regional Vice President. 

Prior to Office Depot, Mullen spent eight years working for Home Depot in several positions, including Regional Vice President of Operations, Corporate Vice President of Safety, Corporate Vice President of Operations, and District Manager.  Before working for Home Depot, Mullen spent five years at Eckerd Drugs in store management, and eight years at Rickel Home Centers as Regional Director, Executive Store Director and Manager.

Mullen currently serves on the Board of the Florida Retail Federation and is a graduate of Emory University, where he received his MBA.

 

George J. Nemphos is the chair of Duane Morris' Corporate Practice Group and the managing partner of the firm's Baltimore office. He is also a member of the firm's national governing Partners Board. Mr. Nemphos practices in the areas of corporate and securities law. He has extensive experience in representing both private and public companies, venture capitalists, angel investors and private equity funds. He frequently represents clients in mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as securities law, compliance and general corporate matters. Mr. Nemphos' clients have included emerging businesses, high-tech and telecommunications companies, private equity and venture capital funds, manufacturing companies, and companies in the capital markets, life sciences and homeland security industries.

In 2001, Mr. Nemphos was named one of the "40 Under 40" business leaders in Baltimore by the Baltimore Business Journal. Mr. Nemphos is a graduate of the 2006 GBC Leadership program, a program that hand-picks Baltimore area leaders from business, nonprofits and the government to become strategists for the future of the region. In addition, in September 2008, Institutional Investor named Mr. Nemphos as one of "10 Rising Stars of Private Equity and M&A Law." He is also listed in the 2009 edition of Maryland Super Lawyers.

Prior to joining Duane Morris, Mr. Nemphos led a team of lawyers representing a private equity fund in its acquisition of Captain D's Restaurant chain; Active Day, Inc.'s acquisition of the Almost Family adult daycare division; TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.'s acquisition of Xypoint Corporation; and a multitude of venture capital and private equity deals.

Admitted to practice in Maryland, Mr. Nemphos is a 1994 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he was a member of the Heuisler Honor Society and a member of the Tax Moot Court team. Mr. Nemphos also holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center and is a graduate of Boston University.

 

Beatriz R. Perez is currently Chief Sustainability Officer of The Coca-Cola Company and is responsible for creating and overseeing an integrated global strategy; setting goals and commitments; assessing and driving scaled investments; and managing and tracking all global NGO partnerships and key sustainability projects. Bea stewards the Company’s global sustainability agenda by driving focus, collaboration and scale with a framework anchored on four priorities: water, climate protection, packaging and recycling, and community, which includes social, economic and physical health.

Bea’s most recent role has been Chief Marketing Officer, for the North America Division of The Coca-Cola Company where she was responsible for knowledge and insights, integrated marketing communication, brand programming, media, sports/entertainment, interactive marketing, Hispanic American consumer marketing, African American consumer marketing, digital marketing, marketing capability, and university marketing recruitment program.

She was earlier Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Coca-Cola North America, where she and her team made significant contributions in bringing our brands to life with consumers in a continuously changing landscape. Bea has been responsible for negotiating and leading our efforts with media, interactive, entertainment and sports partnerships, including NASCAR, PGA, U.S. Olympic Committee, NBA, LeBron James, American Idol,  Dick Clark Productions, OSCARS, Ryan Seacrest, and many others across film, music, television and sports.

Bea joined The Coca-Cola Company as an Associate Brand Manager in 1996, following nearly two years working on the Company’s Hispanic marketing efforts as an account executive with
DMB&B/Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, Noble and Associates.

Bea’s accomplishments include recently launching the Coke Digital Network (CDN), an innovative media communication tool, and developing the Company’s award-winning Motorsports marketing platform, which launched Coca-Cola as the Official Soft Drink of NASCAR, created the Coca-Cola Racing Family and secured our partnership with International Speedway Corporation, which includes the prestigious Daytona 500.  Bea served as a member of the Women Leadership Council from 2007-2009, advising Muhtar Kent and the senior leadership team on ways to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions, specifically focusing on General Management positions.

Bea continues to be recognized externally for her achievements. In 2011, she was awarded the Gerald S. Snyder Heart Award at the Larry King Cardiac Foundation Annual Gala. In 2009, she was inducted into American Advertising Hall of Achievement. Also last year, she led her team in winning the Sports Business Awards by Sports Business Journal.  In 2007, she was named the Industry Career Achiever by the American Advertising Federation’s Mosaic Center. In 2006, she was recognized for her leadership in the Media industry as an "Ad Age Media Maven." In 2000 and 2005, she was named one of Sports Business Journal’s "Top 25 Women in Business." She was named one of Sports Business Journal’s "40 Under 40" for three consecutive years (2001-2003) and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1997, Bea was named the "Most Promising Manager of the Year" by the National Hispanic Employees Association.

Bea is chair of the Grammy Foundation and sits on the boards of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, The Victory Junction Gang Camps founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty, and HSBC North America Holdings Inc.

Bea holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of Maryland and resides with her family in Atlanta.

 

Jeff brings 12 years of private equity experience and 3 years of operating experience to the LNK team, and has been with LNK since the fund's inception. Prior to joining LNK, Jeff was a Principal at Apax Partners where he was instrumental in founding the global firm's U.S. Consumer and Retail group, participating in such high profile transactions as the PVH (NYSE: PVH) acquisition of Calvin Klein. Before joining Apax, Jeff was an Associate at GE Equity, the private equity division of General Electric. Jeff's operating experiences include working as Manager of Corporate Finance for ITT Corporation, the parent company of Sheraton Hotels, Caesars Palace Casinos and Madison Square Garden. Jeff began his career as an Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Smith Barney.

Jeff is currently on the Board of Directors of Au Bon Pain and has served on the Board of Directors of Performance Bicycle. Jeff received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Donna Marie Ponferrada has nine years of experience in marketing, client service, and commercial real estate. She currently works as an Account Executive with Coloredge NY*LA, a production agency delivering visual communication solutions. Her primary focus is to develop and grow profitable new business and to foster and maintain effective key agency relationships. Prior to moving to New York, she was with McMorgan & Company in San Francisco, an institutional real estate investment manager. She managed the financial analyses of the McMorgan fund national portfolio, MIREF I, Line of Credit. While in this role she worked closely with the Acquisitions, Asset Management and Portfolio Management teams. Donna Marie launched her career at Landor Associates, a premier branding and consulting agency, rising to prominent roles on client accounts that include FedEx, AAA, CSAA, Gap Inc., Samsung Electronics, ChevronTexaco, Charles Schwab, PepsiCo, Tropicana and Gatorade.

Donna Marie is currently the Co-Director of Volunteers and an active mentor for Minds Matter of NYC. She is a brother in Delta Sigma Pi - a professional co-ed business fraternity, a member of the Urban Land Institute and former member of the Steering Committee for the Young Leaders Group with the San Francisco District Council. In addition, she belongs to the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and formerly an active volunteer with the Mission YMCA of San Francisco.

Donna Marie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing from San Francisco State University.

 

Paul Price is CEO of Creative Realities – designers and builders of unique digital experiences that bridge the virtual and physical worlds. Under his leadership Creative Realities has grown an impressive roster of S&P 500 companies engaging its innovative experience planning, design and technology services.

Paul’s career spans 25 years consulting to leading marketers such as ExxonMobil, Coca Cola, HP and Pfizer. He has lead multiple marketing services companies spanning direct marketing, digital, retail and advertising disciplines as well as leading cross-functional combinations serving large global clients.

As Rapp’s first global president he oversaw its repositioning as a data-driven creative company with global reach, culminating in successive new business wins and award-winning direct digital campaigns.

As DDB’s first Chief Partnership Officer, he drove service innovation through its 200 agency network to support a growing roster of multi-national clients with diverse marketing services needs.

His approach is characterized by “making the brief, not taking the brief” and a collaborative management style encouraging innovative, consumer-centric approaches to the marketing challenges of the 21st century. Born in Sydney, Australia,

Paul lives in New York City with his wife and son. He enjoys cinema, art, golf and finding the spiciest curries New York has to offer.

 

Henry Rak is the Founder and CEO of Henry Rak Consulting Partners (HRCP), a growth strategy management consulting firm. During his 40 year career, Mr. Rak has been a leader in building tools and capabilities to provide businesses with competitively advantaged business strategies.  His unique talent is helping clients understand the true nature of their sources of revenue and creating marketing strategies and plans, which have led to transformational profitable growth for his clients. Mr. Rak is widely recognized as a pioneer in harnessing data and turning it into a competitive advantage for business growth. CEOs and senior executives of many of the world's most marketing-savvy consumer companies value Mr. Rak as a friend and counselor. A frequent speaker at consumer goods and services events, Mr. Rak has written many articles and collaborated with client leaders on subjects ranging from how to grow revenues to the state of marketing in the US.  Prior to founding HRCP in 1999, he enjoyed a 27 year career at Kraft General Foods in senior strategy and insights leadership positions. 

 

Dawn Robertson is the CEO of Avenue, a specialty retailer of plus-size women’s fashion apparel, footwear and accessories (450 Avenue stores nationwide and Avenue.com).

Before joining Avenue, Dawn served as President of Sean John, leading all aspects of this entrepreneurial company founded by Sean,”Diddy”, Combs.  Prior to this, she was President of Old Navy, responsible for all areas of the business including merchandise, design, marketing, stores, new brand positioning and renewed store concept.  Also, Dawn was Managing Director of Myer Stores (Australia), President of Federated Direct, EVP of Macys Merchandising and CEO of McRae’s (division of Sak’s Incorporated).

Dawn has extensive experience managing numerous product categories and overseeing the direct channel. With 30+ years in the retailing industry, she is a self-motivated, results-oriented professional who promotes teamwork and accountability.

Dawn received her BS in Fashion Merchandising from Auburn University.

 

Gregory Scott was named Chief Executive Officer in February 2011 and served as President since June 2010.  Mr. Scott was appointed to the Board of Directors on August 18, 2010.  Mr. Scott brings more than 20 years of retail industry experience to the Company. Most recently, Mr. Scott served as the Chief Executive Officer of Bebe Stores from February 2004 to January 2009 and also served as a member of their board of directors from August 2004 to January 2009. Prior to Bebe, Mr. Scott served as President of Arden B., a division of Wet Seal, Inc., from May 2000 to January 2004.  Mr. Scott has also held senior level merchandising positions at Ann Taylor Stores.

Mr. Scott began his retail career in the executive training program at Macy's West, a division of Federated Department Stores, Inc., where he held several merchandising positions.   Mr. Scott holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Allison Slater Ray, Vice President of Retail Marketing for Sephora, has over 15 years experience in the beauty industry, including 10 plus years at Sephora. Ms. Slater oversees all aspects of Sephora’s retail marketing program including advertising, brand marketing, PR, social responsibility, store marketing, etc. Previously, Ms. Slater served as the Advertising Manager for Calvin Klein Cosmetics Company and was instrumental in the creation of innovative media strategies for their fragrance brands. Before joining Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Ms. Slater held a Media Planning position at DDB Needham and worked on Chanel, Inc. Ms. Slater attended undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she majored in Marketing and a member of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), UJA and Skin Cancer Foundation. She lives in New York City with her husband and 2 children.

 

Birame Sock is the Founder and CEO of Third Solutions, Inc. In 2002, Birame founded Musicphone, Inc., a Wireless Entertainment company and successfully led Musicphone through its acquisition in July 2007 by Gracenote, Inc., a recognized California-based Digital Media company which was subsequently acquired by Sony Corporation. Musicphone was the first to launch a Wireless Music Recognition service called MusicID with AT&T Wireless and Virgin Mobile USA in 2005. In 2005, Birame served on the Board of CKX (NASDAQ: CKXE) as an Independent Director and Audit Committee Member. Birame also served as the Digital Media Strategist for CKX working in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content covering major brands such as Elvis Presley, American Idol and Muhammad Ali. As a result of her successes as an entrepreneur with a strong technology background and focus on digital technologies and consumer applications, Birame has appeared on CNBC and Good Morning America, has spoken at many leading digital entertainment events and has been quoted in several articles in the New York Times, Billboard Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. Prior to Musicphone, Birame was Vice President at SetNet Corporation, a Wireless Messaging company and worked as a Senior Project Manager for Nortel Networks, Inc.

 

Rochelle Udell, Adjunct Professor, Advanced Topics in Marketing; MS, Pratt Institute, BS, Brooklyn College; SVP, Creative Director, Chico’s; EVP, Chief Creative Officer, Revlon; President, Fairchild Internet; SVP, Brand Development, The Limited; Editor-in-Chief, SELF; President, CondeNet; President, Creative Director, CRK Advertising; Design Director, VOGUE; Matrix Award; Art Director’s Hall of Fame; Lifetime Achievement, Society of Publication Designers

 

Speaker bio coming soon...