The Brownestone Group

FINDING TALENT. BUILDING BUSINESSES.

Thought Leadership

WWD | Charlie Cole, Global Chief eCommerce Officer, Samsonite

Digital retail expert Charlie Cole shares his view on the future of DTC retail, and a variety of leadership lessons learned at diverse brands. 

Charlie Cole is known for driving and growing digital businesses.  In this edition of our thought leadership Q&A series, the Global Chief of eCommerce at Samsonite (a collection of 10 brands, including Tumi) discusses formative leadership experience from throughout his career, and what he believes brands and leaders need to do to succeed in today’s retail landscape. 

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WWD | Peter Arnold, Executive Director, YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund

Fashion leader Peter Arnold discusses his diverse career, and how he is driving change and transformation at YMA FSF. 

Peter Arnold started his career as a lawyer and went on to lead the CFDA in addition to several fashion brands.  Now, he has taken on the challenge of modernizing the 82-year old YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, an organization that develops young future talent by connecting students, universities, and a large portion of the fashion and retail industries. 

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WWD | Alain Bernard, CEO of Richemont North America

The North American CEO of Richemont  talks leading luxury brands, clients and employees into the future.

Alain Bernard and Richemont have grown together for more than twenty years, including leadership roles at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, in Asia, Europe and Stateside.  Today, Alain oversees all of the Maisons at Richemont North America, ensuring the brands, their customers and their employees are continually evolving and improving.

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WWD | Amy Shecter, CEO of Glamsquad

Amy Shecter, CEO of Glamsquad, shares insights into how the on-demand service is evolving, and becoming even more relevant to its clients.

Amy Shecter has held leadership roles at brands including Donna Karan, Cole Haan, Tory Burch and CorePower Yoga.  Now, she’s applying her expertise at Glamsquad, transforming the once on-demand beauty startup into a complete beauty brand. 

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WWD | Rob Smith & The Phluid Project

Rob Smith, founder of The Phluid Project, shares his insights into leadership, mentorship and the future of retail.

Retail veteran Rob Smith founded The Phluid Project in March 2018, and has since transformed the brand from being the world’s first gender-free retail store to also being a platform for social change.

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WWD | Soko: Reimagining the Supply Chain

Joanne Calabrese shares the jewelry brand’s approach to making beautiful and ethical goods.

Soko CEO, Joanne Calabrese, explores with us her earlier career at big retail brands, and her current role leading a startup that leverages technology and a distributed workforce to create sustainable and ethical jewelry.

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