Past Fashion Business Videos

Presented By: Tim Moore, Hilldun Corp

Tim Moore, Executive VP of Hilldun Corporation discusses the key financial fundamentals and how to finance an omni channel fashion or luxury brand business.

About Tim Moore
Executive VP and Director at Hilldun Corporation is an expert in the Key Financial Fundamentals in the Fashion Industry and how to finance an omni channel fashion business. Hilldun has been financing fashion brands along with manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, and service providers across a wide range of industries since 1958. Hilldun provides credit protection/Accounts Receivable management, accounts receivable and purchase order financing along with a variety of other financial programs. Hilldun represents over 500 of America's top fashion designers including R13, IRO, Jason Wu, Ulla Johnson, Nili Lotan, Naeem Khan, Mansur Gavriel, Cushnie Et Ochs, ALC, Jonathan Simkhai, Isabel Mirant, Mara Hoffman.

Presented By: Nancy Marino, Columbus Consulting

Nancy Marino, Principal at Columbus Consulting, and an expert in Go-To-Market Strategies discusses the Supply Chain of the Future.

About Nancy Marino
Nancy Marino is a Principal at Columbus Consulting with a proven track record of successfully leading retailers and brands for implementation of processes from design to delivery and development of their Go-To-Market strategies. She is respected for her leadership skills and project management oversight for executing system initiatives and international acumen having managed global sourcing and buying offices in over 50 countries. Nancy is a decision leader and change management expert. Nancy’s focus is on merchandising, product development, international operations, and supply chain strategies from design to delivery for retailers and brands.

Nancy most recently was EVP/Chief Supply Chain Officer of Gloria Jeans located in Russia and prior to this assignment was President of Design, Sourcing & Production for Russell Newman, an intimate apparel company selling to U.S. and International better specialty, department and mid-tier stores. Prior to joining R.N. Designs, Nancy was Senior Vice President of Hanes Branded Apparel, responsible for international operations for Hanes’ buying offices worldwide, including oversight for sourcing and production for all branded apparel brands.

Nancy also lead Brand Development and Worldwide Sourcing, as Senior Vice President for Sears, with offices located throughout the Far East, South East Asia, and Europe. Nancy was responsible for the design and development of all Sears’ Private Brand programs for Apparel and Home Fashions, along with direct responsibility for Sears’ International Buying Offices worldwide, providing merchandising, quality control, technical design and support for production follow up and compliance.

Prior to joining Sears, Ms. Marino was President and CEO of Linmark, an international sourcing agent operating a B2B Global Marketplace, which provided a trading environment for worldwide sourcing and production for hard lines and apparel. Before joining Linmark, Ms. Marino was President and CEO of Frederick Atkins, a leading international marketing and product development buying office wholly-owned by U.S. and international department stores with a combined retail sales volume of $14.0B.

Nancy also spent over 8 years at Associated Merchandising Corporation as Executive Vice-President, International Operations, Sourcing and Production. AMC was one of the largest overseas buying agents with offices in 54 countries.

Nancy started her career at Federated Department Stores and held various buying and management positions before joining Bradlees as Senior VP/GMM of Softlines, followed by an assignment at Lerner's, a division of The Limited, as VP/GMM.

Presented By: Madison Fiore, Hawke Media

Madison Fiore, Director of Growth at Hawke Media and an expert on Performance Marketing and Business Strategies.

About Madison Fiore
Madison Fiore is a Performance Marketing and Business Strategist at his core. Over the last 10 years, he has worked with and professionally consulted over 200 brands.

As the Director of Growth at Hawke Media, an award-winning Outsourced CMO and marketing agency, Madison has helped scale the agency from less than 50 employees to over 150 by growing, grooming, and managing Hawke's 20+ consulting team. In three years with Hawke Media, Madison has contributed to remarkable revenue growth from $5M in 2017 to $20M+ in 2019.

Prior to Hawke, Madison co-founded and launched three brands while consulting on dozens of other projects with clients in a variety of industries. This experience led to his passion for supporting brand's growth. As an entrepreneur and brand marketing expert, Madison has become a trusted advisor and partner to companies of all shapes and sizes including Hawke Ventures.

Presented By: Danielle Garno, Cozen O’Connor

Danielle Garno, co-chair of the Retail Industry Group at the law firm of Cozen O'Connor and an expert in fashion start-ups and multinational global brands.

About Danielle Garno
Danielle focuses her practice on issues faced by the fashion community, including startup phase and commercial advice, intellectual property such as trademark and copyright infringement, social media marketing, advertising, and anti-counterfeiting, as well as employment and general business litigation. She has significant experience litigating both individual and class actions. Danielle also has a substantial white-collar practice, defending businesses in white collar disputes, alleged fraud actions, and federal and state indictments. When necessary, she also manages internal investigations and represents clients before state and federal regulatory bodies.

Danielle represents fashion clients of all sizes from startups to multinational, global brands, helping them navigate through legal issues as well as counseling them on growing and sustaining a successful brand. She is co-chair of the firm's Retail Industry Group.

Danielle has written extensively and lectured all over the country on topics relating to fashion law and currently teaches fashion law at the University of Miami School of Law. She sits on the board of trustees of the YoungArts Foundation and is also counsel to the nonprofit organization Style Saves. Her work has been recognized by Florida Trend, Florida Super Lawyers, and Law360.

Danielle earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Miami and her law degree, cum laude, from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Presented By: Stuart Mayer, Prager Metis

Stuart Mayer, Managing Partner of Prager Metis CPAs in New York City. Stuart is an accounting expert specializing in fashion, retail real estate, technology and entrepreneurial services.

About Stuart Mayer
Stuart H. Mayer is a Partner of Prager Metis CPAs. Stuart has over twenty years within the accounting profession, with experience in the Fashion, Real Estate and New Business Development industries. He also serves as the Managing Partner -New York, NY Office.

Stuart focuses his practice on new business and client development. He has been instrumental in the strong growth of clients in the fashion and apparel industries. His expertise working with online media and interactive services companies has helped guide them successfully through mergers and acquisition deals. Stuart’s proficiency in those industries was demonstrated when one of his clients was featured in the Wall Street Journal for impressive financial growth.

Stuart has significant experience in certified audits and reviews of financial statements. He works extensively with the real estate industry, including CIRAs, developers, management companies and rental companies.

Stuart has been featured as “Executive of the Month” by New York Real Estate Journal and was selected as a “Top 40 Under 40” by Long Island Business Journal.

Stuart joined Prager Metis upon the combination with Mayer CPAs LLP and Prager Metis in 2016.

Presented By: Chris Vignone, PM Business Advisors

Chris Vignone, CEO & Managing Director in Business Advisory at PM Business Advisors in New York City. Chris' specialty is in Credits & Incentives and Tax Controversy, and is an acclaimed thought leader in the area of Sales & Use Tax. Chris discusses State & Local Taxes: How Fashion Businesses Can Maintain an Edge and Mitigate Risk.

About Chris Vignone
Chris has over 20 years of experience providing business advisory services to corporate America. His clients include many Fortune 1000 companies, and he is an acclaimed thought leader in the area of sales & use tax. Chris has maintained the role of advisory practice leader for several firms before taking the helm as CEO for PMBA in 2015.

Presented By: David Pilnick

About David Pilnick
David Pilnick is a proven branding executive with over 30 years of experience and expertise in Global Branding and International Retail Development.

As President of Pilnick Associates LLC, David provides advisory services to the private equity, retail, fashion and beauty industries.

Prior to founding Pilnick Associates, David was SVP of International Business Development at Hudson’s Bay Company/Saks Fifth Avenue where he was responsible for leading Saks Fifth Avenue’s international development strategy including the opening of 8 full line Saks stores in the Middle East, Central Asia and Mexico.

Prior to his leadership role at Hudson’s Bay Company/Saks Fifth Avenue, David held executive positions at Liverpool Mexico and Bloomingdale’s where he worked under the leadership of Marvin Traub.

David has been interviewed and quoted in International publications including Forbes, The International New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and Women’s Wear Daily and is a frequent speaker on International Business Development and Global Branding.

David holds an MBA from New York Institute of Technology and a BSc from New York University.

Presented By: Steve Trayner, Barbarian Marketing

Steve Trayner, Managing Director at The Barbarian Agency, a fashion business development, and creative consulting firm in New York City. Steve started his career in advertising for Nike, BMW, and Mini, and has worked as a consultant, or in executive leadership roles in New York and Los Angles for Stutterheim, Kappa, Daniel Wellington, Weatherproof, and other influential international and domestic brands. Steve brings years of holistic product development, sales strategy, and business trajectory understanding to growing brands. Join us to discuss Brand Building & Strategic Sales.

About Steve Trayner
Steve Trayner is the Managing Director at The Barbarian Agency, a fashion business development, and creative consulting firm in New York City. Steve started his career in 2007 in advertising for Nike, BMW, and Mini in Australia. He has worked as a consultant, or in executive leadership roles in New York and Los Angles for Stutterheim, Kappa, Daniel Wellington, Weatherproof, and other influential international and domestic brands. Steve brings years of holistic product development, sales strategy, and business trajectory understanding to growing brands.

Presented By: Kristen Kern, AAFA

About Kristen Kern
As Manager of Supply Chain and Sustainability Initiatives, Kristen leads the AAFA Sustainability portfolio, working with government and industry professionals to further environmental sustainability in the apparel and footwear industry. She also leads the AAFA Product Safety portfolio, collaborating with stakeholders to create best practices and regulations for safe, quality products for consumers. Kristen holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Fashion Merchandising and Design, and French, with a minor in Chemistry from Virginia Tech.

Presented By: Mariam Bin Mahfouz, Julian Chang and Viviana Gabeiras

Fashion is at the intersection of creativity, innovation, art and commerce. A global industry that has accelerated its reach and impact significantly in the last decades.

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) join us and hear from a panel of distinguished designer entrepreneurs from Saudi Arabia, Peru and Venezuela as they share their insights to create a global brand. Registration is complimentary.

Welcoming comments and introductions are provided by Beth Sobol, Founder & CEO of GFBA, and the webinar is moderated by Dr. Susan Amat, VP Education for GEN.

About Mariam Bin Mahfouz
Harnessing the lifestyle and cultural sentiments of the Arab woman, Mariam Bin Mahfouz, originally from Saudi Arabia, marries tradition and culture with contemporary design. In establishing Sotra, her visionary aesthetic is brought to life by combining comfort and style with luxury materials and cutting edge design whilst maintaining the modest sensibilities apparent in Middle Eastern culture.

About Julian Chang
Award winning designer Julian Chang, originally from Peru, is known for his bold prints and signature silhouettes. With a focus on glamorous evening wear and creating one-of-a-kind items, Julian has become one of fashion's most celebrated designers to emerge from Miami. His clients include such superstars as Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Paris Hilton, and Janet Jackson.

About Viviana Gabeiras
Viviana Gabeiras, originally from Venezuela, is renowned for her handiwork with luxury knits, and has been celebrated as an exclusive leader in the mesh contemporary market. Her brand not only represents her lifestyle, but reflects the power of women, and her designs are like an empowering layer of skin. Viviana has been featured in the national and international press including the cover of Women's Wear Daily, and is a regular guest and fashion expert on multiple television shows broadcast on NBC, Univision and CNN.

Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds personifies the definition of a renaissance man. With over 20 years of professional experience in multiple industries, Hammonds has built a solid reputation as a multi-gifted and multi-purposed professional in his roles as a global educator, style expert, lifestyle consultant, and author.

About Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds
An advocate for Higher Education and a lifelong learner, Dr. Hammonds earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Argosy University. Additionally, he earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Keller Graduate School and a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Alabama State University.

As an Educator, Dr. Hammonds has worked in the public school system as a special education teacher, and he has proudly served as the Fashion Marketing and Design Department Chair at the Art Institute of Atlanta and the Art Institute of Decatur, where he mentored many of his students in both fashion and marketing. One of his greatest achievements during his tenure at The Art Institute of Atlanta was his introduction of the Gap for Community Colleges program, which was a part of “Skills for America’s Future”, a White House initiative that was launched under the Obama administration for numerous institutions and corporations.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Hammonds is known as The Dean of Fashion, and a prominent African-American fashion influencer and trendsetter. As a trendsetter, Hammonds is known for his sartorial style and whimsical fashion, and he was previously recognized by Modern Luxury Magazine as one of Atlanta’s most influential style setters. Dr. Hammonds’ influence in fashion led him to becoming the Assistant Human Resources Manager at Neiman Marcus, where he held this position for 6 years.

Due to his expertise in the areas of global education and cutting-edge fashion, Dr. Hammonds has appeared on several syndicated television shows on networks such as Bravo, Lifetime, TLC, and ABC. In addition, he has consulted on private-label ready-to-wear brands and conducted 100+ style seminars all over the world. He has also served as a contributing Fashion Editor for multiple publications, and publishes a yearly fashion edition for Hers Magazine. Under Hammonds’ leadership, the magazine scored collaborations with InStyle which featured several high-profile figures in the fashion industry including: artistic directors Nicolas Ghesquière from Louis Vuitton and Claire Wright Keller from Givenchy, acclaimed womenswear designer, Christian Siriano, and world-renown makeup artist, Daniel Martin.

Outside of writing and editing for high-fashion magazines and lifestyle publications, Dr. Hammonds is the author of 4 books on fashion and philanthropy:

Currently, Dr. Hammonds sits on the board of the St. Lucia Fashion Council where he serves as a global marketing consultant to the island of St. Lucia.

He is also a visiting professor for several universities. In addition to global consulting, working as a contributing writer to multiple publications, authoring books, and working in Higher Education.

Dr. Hammonds is currently a proud resident of Atlanta, GA.

For over 20 years Cece Feinberg has been at the forefront of fashion PR. Bringing together a unique mix of art, fashion, and luxury clients. Continuously delivering prestige value that defines and propels brands into that elusive and exclusive luxury market.

About Cece Feinberg
Cece Feinberg began her career in the PR and Marketing Department at Vogue magazine where she worked on the publication’s sponsored events such as the CFDA Awards, the Vogue AIDS Benefit, and the Irving Penn Retrospective. Feinberg started her eponymous agency in 2002 and over the years Feinberg’s client roster has included an exciting list of well-known brands including Wet Seal, Arden B., Bijoux Terner, Daryl K., Tracey Ross, Vitamin A, Jantzen, Perry Ellis, Gen Art, ModCloth, Joanna Mastroianni, Costume National, and Ed Hardy Fragrances to name just a few.

Her agency has also worked with a myriad of brands from around the world including Brazilian brands Iodice, Sobral, Hope Lingerie, and Santa Lolla Footwear; Colombian brands Aqua Bendita and Mercedes Salazar; Australian brands Moov Boots, Hussy and Madame Marie; and French brands Shams denim and Messika fine jewelry.

Recently she has been tapped by the organizers of Bogota Fashion Week and ProColombia as a guest speaker who can advise young and established brands on what they need to know to enter the U.S. market.

She has developed blogs for her own company as well as for her clients and utilizes a variety of digital marketing strategies to grow brand recognition, web presence, and product sales for each depending on the goals of each brand.