Bio
David Duplantis
With a successful career in retail, David championed the development of and now leads Coach’s Global Web & Digital Media group. He and his team are singularly focused on presenting a compelling global brand experience in all digital media.
For over a decade, David led the North American Retail division’s merchandising, marketing, planning and allocation functions. During this time, he helped reposition the Coach brand from a traditional house of leather known for quality and craftsmanship, to a fashion brand with over three billion dollars in sales. Before joining Coach, David held merchandising roles within J. Crew and Gap, Inc. where he was credited for rigorously driving businesses.
At home, David is equally challenged and delighted as he and his partner spend much of their time keeping up with, and amused by, their busy and very bold 18 month old baby girl.
Scott Galloway
Scott is the founder of L2, a think tank for digital innovation, and clinical professor of marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business where he teaches brand strategy and digital marketing. Scott is also the founder of Firebrand Partners, an operational activist firm that has invested over $1 billion in U.S. consumer and media companies.
In 1997, he founded Red Envelope, an Internet-based consumer gift retailer (2007 revs, $100mm). In 1992, Scott founded Prophet, a brand strategy consultancy that employs over 250 professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Scott was elected to the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow," which recognizes 100 individuals under age 40 "whose accomplishments have had impact on a global level." Scott has served on the board of directors of Eddie Bauer, The New York Times Company, Gateway Computer, and Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
Charles Gibb
Charles’ career within Moët Hennessy started at the creation of Moët Hennessy Australia, where he was recruited as Sales Director in 2003. After leaving Australia, he held the position of Managing Director, Strategic Development at Moët Hennessy Europe.
In 2009 he was appointed as President of Millennium, The Vodka & Rum Division of Moët Hennessy, responsible for the global development and expansion of Belvedere Vodka as well as building 10 Cane Rum. Later that year Charles implemented the move of the Millennium Maison from London to its current location of New York City.
Previously, Charles spent eight years at Diageo, where he held a number of Sales, Marketing and General Management positions in Poland & Australia. Within his career, he has led numerous projects from developing Bundaberg Rum on tap, been involved in three start-up companies in Poland and Australia, and worked on establishing Moët Hennessy’s joint venture in Russia.
Charles has spent the past 17 years in the beverage industry, working for Bacardi Martini, Diageo and Moët Hennessy, and prior to that was an officer in the British Army, serving in Germany, UK, and Northern Ireland. He plays golf with a handicap of 8, and is a member at HCEG and Lake Karrinyup in Perth, Western Australia.
Dave Gilboa
Dave is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Warby Parker, a transformative eyewear brand sold direct to consumers for a fraction of the price of comparable glasses. And for every pair of glasses sold, one pair is donated to someone in need.
Prior to Warby Parker, Dave was an Associate at Allen & Company, a merchant bank, where he invested in seed-stage and venture-stage healthcare and digital media companies, and advised M&A transactions exceeding $20B. Previously, David worked at Bain & Company, where he formulated and implemented business strategies for some of the world’s leading retail and technology companies. David was also Special Assistant to the Founder and CEO of The TriZetto Group, and has held strategy and business development roles at Genomic Health and Crescendo Bioscience.
Dave is on the founding Entrepreneur Board of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to mobilizing graduates as entrepreneurs in low-cost cities. He graduated with a BS in Bioengineering with Honors from UC Berkeley and has an MBA from Wharton Business School.
Melisa Goldie
Melisa joined Calvin Klein, Inc. in 2001 and today serves as the Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein, Inc. Melisa was elevated to this role in 2009 after serving for three years as the Senior Vice President, Creative Services of CRK Advertising—the company’s in-house advertising agency, which is named for the company’s founder, and is responsible for the consistent execution of the company’s global creative strategies. Prior to that role, she spent five years as CRK Advertising’s Vice President of Broadcast & Print Production.
With her extensive background in advertising and photography, today Melisa is responsible for directing and executing the company’s branded materials for advertising, marketing, packaging, licensing, and promotional initiatives, across all product categories globally.
Leading a team of over 40 staff members, Ms. Goldie oversees the iconic fashion company’s creative development, strategic planning, media buying, and subsequent execution of creative across print, broadcast, outdoor, and digital platforms around the world.
Prior to joining Calvin Klein, Inc., Melisa held Executive Producer roles at well-respected creative agencies such as Arnell Group and Toth Brand Imaging, and prior to that she served as a photographers agent and producer.
Melisa, who graduated with honors from Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography, resides in Brooklyn, New York with her family.
Sheril Kirshenbaum
As a research scientist, Sheril works on projects to enhance public understanding of energy issues as they relate to food, oceans, and culture. She is involved in conservation initiatives across levels of government, working to improve communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public.
Sheril is the author of The Science of Kissing, which explores one of humanity’s fondest pastimes. She also co-authored Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future with Chris Mooney. She writes the science column at Bloomberg View and hosts the blog Culture of Science, which focuses on the interdisciplinary nature of understanding our world and biodiversity.
She serves as a science advisor to NPR’s Science Friday and its nonprofit partner, Science Friday Initiative. Sheril is a graduate of Tufts University and holds two M.S. degrees in marine biology and marine policy from the University of Maine.
Catherine Levene
Catherine is the Co-Founder and CEO of ArtSpace. As a digital media innovator and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience building successful online media companies, she is responsible for the joint vision of ArtSpace as well as the overall day-to-day management of the company. Most recently, Catherine held the position of COO and General Manager of DailyCandy, a leading daily e-mail and website targeted to women that focuses on the latest trends in fashion, food, and culture.
Prior to joining DailyCandy, Catherine was part of the executive team at start-up shopping search engine TheFind.com, where she served as SVP of Product and General Manager of content and distribution. In addition, Catherine spent seven years at New York Times Digital (NYTD), building the online properties of the New York Times Company, including nytimes.com. Catherine currently advises early stage internet companies in media and commerce, sits on the board of TheFind.com, and is an advisor to RenttheRunway.com and LearnVest.com.
Catherine received a B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania and, concurrently, a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of Business in 1992. She earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1996.
Tamas Locher
Tamás is co-founder and CEO of LOOKK.com LOOKK.com uses the web as a tool to empower designers and brands to connect with their fans and customers by offering online marketing, manufacturing, retail and worldwide distribution.
His strengths are the building of world-class intercultural and interdisciplinary teams aiming to make a difference with their work. Apart of his main involvement with LOOKK.com, he is a core driver of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe.
Sonia Marciano
Sonia joined NYU Stern School of Business as a Clinical Associate Professor of Management and Organizations in July 2007. Prior to joining NYU Stern, Professor Marciano taught Strategy at Columbia Business School and was an Institute Fellow and Senior Lecturer at Harvard University’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness.
In Chicago, Professor Marciano also was a Clinical Professor of Management and Strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management for eight years, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Strategy at the University of Chicago.
Sonia has worked in the consulting, banking, and insurance industries, and has taught executive education courses for Ernst & Young and Abbott Laboratories, among others. Sonia received her B.A. with honors, her M.B.A., and her Ph.D. in Business Economics and Industrial Organization, all from the University of Chicago.
Rachel Shechtman
Rachel is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who loves finding the next big thing almost as much as sharing it with her clients. In 2003 and with Bliss Spas as her first client, Rachel launched Cube Ventures, a retail consulting practice guided by the philosophy that a successful retail transaction results from the coexistence of the following six economic and creative principles being active and present: Passion, Innovation, Demand, Expertise, Margin, and Execution. Cube has worked with Gilt Groupe, Lord & Taylor, Cotton Incorporated, Vosges Chocolate, Flight 001, Shop.org, and others.
In the fall of 2006, Rachel was hired by Diane von Furstenberg on behalf of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to launch its first-ever business membership initiative, The Business Services Network (BSN); the BSN creates strategic access for businesses while creating exclusive opportunities for designers.
In January 2009, Rachel launched show+tell, a marketing division of Cube Venture that creates brand-to-consumer relationships through meaningful partnerships and experiences; show+tell has worked with TOMS Shoes, Kraft Foods, JC Penney, and AOL. Today, show+tell is bringing its strategies to life through a new retail model launching in NYC in December 2011.
Marc Speichert
Marc joined L’Oréal USA in the newly-created role of Chief Marketing Officer in April, 2010 and is responsible for driving and enhancing innovation throughout L’Oréal USA’s four divisions: Consumer Products, Luxury Products, Professional Products, and Active Cosmetics. In his role, Marc is also responsible for Corporate Strategic Marketing, Media & Digital, as well as Consumer Market Intelligence.
With over 15 years of experience in the consumer products industry, Marc has extensive knowledge in the areas of marketing and innovation. He began his career in marketing with an internship in L’Oréal’s Luxury Division in France in 1995, which was where he decided to make marketing his career.
Marc received his Masters in Marketing Management from ESCP Europe, and from there went on to hold various international marketing positions at Colgate-Palmolive beginning in 1997; prior to his new position at L’Oréal USA, was Marketing Director, Category Innovation Center for Colgate Palmolive in New York, where he was in charge of innovation for Colgate’s Personal Care Products in North America.
Duncan Watts
Duncan directs the Human Social Dynamics group at Yahoo! Research. Prior to joining Yahoo!, he was a full professor of Sociology at Columbia University, where he taught from 2000-2007. He has also served on the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute and Nuffield College, Oxford.
Duncan’s research on social networks and collective dynamics has appeared in a wide range of journals, from Nature, Science, and Physical Review Letters to the American Journal of Sociology. He is also the author of Six Degrees: The Science of A Connected Age, and recently, Everything is Obvious (Once You Know The Answer).
Joel Weingarten
Prior to founding StyleOwner and making the natural transition into fashion, Joel taught robotics at Penn in the electrical and systems engineering department. There he developed a successful inner city education initiative using robotics in classrooms under an NSF grant.
During graduate school at the University of Michigan, Joel was a part of the DARPA (defense department research) grant where he helped develop the world’s fastest legged robot (RHex).
When not building robots or websites, Joel can be found cooking with his wife Anna, playing in Central Park, or turning the temperature down in the office (not to worry—he kindly bought Snuggies for everyone in the office).
Gabe Zichermann
Gabe is an author, highly rated public speaker and entrepreneur whose next book, Gamification by Design, looks at the technical and architectural considerations for designing engagement using games concepts. His book Game-Based Marketing achieved critical and industry acclaim for its detailed look at innovators who blend the power of games with brand strategy. A resident of NYC, Gabe is a board member of StartOut.org, advisor to a number of startups, and Facililitator for the Founder Institute in Manhattan.
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