Throughout her career Pauline Brown has helped to acquire, build and lead global luxury brands.She is the author of the forthcoming business book, “Aesthetic Intelligence: How to Boost It and Use It in Business and Beyond,” which will be released this November by HarperCollins.  The book is based on a graduate school course that Pauline designed and taught at The Harvard Business School from 2016 through 2017. In addition to lecturing and writing, Pauline has been advising corporate clients such as Samsung, BMW and Marriott International on brand strategy, experiential marketing and customer relationship management.  Since 2016, she also has been hosting a weekly lifestyle show on SiriusXM, called “Tastemakers,” on which she interviews creative leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs and influencers.

Prior to 2016, Pauline was the Chairman of North America at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, where she provided regional leadership for 70 brands in 5 sectors, including fashion & leather goods, watches & jewelry, perfumes & cosmetics, wines & spirits, and selective retailing.  While at LVMH, Pauline also served on the Board of Directors of L Capital, a private equity fund backed by LVMH, as well as the Boards of several LVMH-backed companies, including Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Fresh Cosmetics and the online luxury retailer Moda Operandi.

In addition to her operational experience in the luxury sector, Pauline has been an active investor in luxury brands.  Before joining LVMH, she was a Managing Director at the global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, where she helped to build the firm’s consumer and retail practice.  While at Carlyle, Pauline invested in and served on the boards of portfolio companies, including the European sportswear brand Moncler and the American beauty brand Philosophy. 

Earlier in her career, Pauline held senior executive positions at leading cosmetics companies, including The Estee Lauder Companies and Avon Products.  While at Estee Lauder Pauline was in charge of all mergers and acquisitions and helped to expand the company’s portfolio from 8 to 25 distinct beauty brands.  She began her career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company.

Pauline currently serves as an independent director of several boards, including the venture-backed online fashion marketplace Shoptiques.com.  In the non-profit arena she sits on the Board of Overseers of the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship and the Board of Governors of the Parsons School of Design.  Since 2008, she has been a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, which seeks to develop the next-generation of community-spirited leaders.   

Pauline received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and she is a member of Wharton’s Executive Alumni Board.

John V. Faraci served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of International Paper from November 1, 2003 to December 31, 2014. He served previously in the positions of president, as well as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He served also as chief executive officer and managing director of Carter Holt Harvey (a former International Paper majority-owned forest products company in New Zealand). John sits on the boards of United Technologies Corp., PPG Industries, Inc., and ConocoPhillips. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Denison University and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He is a member of the American Enterprise Institute and The Council on Foreign Relations. John is also an operating partner with Advent International Global Private Equity. He is a former member of The Grand Teton National Park Foundation and The National Park Foundation. John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and a Master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan. Areas of Interest: conservation, environmental business issues, people development, leadership, joint ventures.

Bob Herz’s current activities include serving on the boards of directors and various board committees of Fannie Mae ( Chairman of Audit Committee), Morgan Stanley (Chairman of Audit Committee), Workiva Inc., Paxos, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Foundation, on the Independent Investment Committee of UNOPS, on several advisory boards, as an Ambassador for the International Integrated Reporting Council, and as a member of the Audit Committee Chair Advisory Council of the National Association of Corporate Directors.  He is also an executive in residence at Columbia Business School and from 2006-2017 served on the Advisory Board of the Alliance Manchester Business School in England. He also serves on the Standing Advisory Group of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and on the PCAOB’s Data and Technology Task Force, the Financial Reporting Faculty Advisory Group of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and was a member of the Accounting Standards Oversight Council of Canada from 2011-2017. Mr. Herz also provides consulting services on financial reporting and other matters through Robert H. Herz LLC, of which he is President.                                                                                                                                                                    

Previously, Bob was Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from 2002 to 2010. He was also one of the original members of the International Accounting Standards Board. He was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers for many years, including serving as audit partner on numerous major companies, as head of the firm’s Corporate Finance Advisory Services, as senior technical partner, as member of the firm’s U.S. and Global Boards, and as President of the Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers foundations. He has chaired a number of professional committees, including the IFAC Transnational Auditors Committee and the AICPA SEC Regulations Committee, has served on numerous public policy commissions, and testified many times at Congressional hearings. He was also previously a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Kessler Foundation from 2003-2015. Mr. Herz has authored or coauthored  7 books and over 80 articles and published papers and is a frequent speaker at major financial reporting and business conferences.  He is a member of the Accounting Hall of Fame and recipient of many awards including the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for lifetime contributions to the profession and society.       

Areas  of Interest:  Financial and corporate reporting, investment banking and corporate finance, corporate governance, sustainability, financial services regulation.

Ehud Houminer serves on Columbia Business School's Board of Overseers and has taught courses in corporate strategy, international strategy, general management and business policy in both the MBA and EMBA Programs at Columbia Business School. He received his BA from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his MBA from the Wharton School. Prior to joining the Executives in Residence Program in 1991, Professor Houminer held numerous high-level appointments in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America during his long career with Philip Morris Companies, Inc., including senior corporate vice president for corporate planning and president and CEO of Philip Morris USA. He is a director of Avnet, Inc. (a global distributor of electronics components) and numerous Dreyfus mutual funds. Professor Houminer is chairman of the Business School Board and a trustee of Ben Gurion University. Areas of interest: general management, domestic and international business strategy, and consumer products and manufacturing industries with a global scope.

Jack Mitchell is Chairman of Mitchell Stores (Mitchells/Richards/ Wilkes/Marios), a three-generation family business that operates men’s and women’s specialty stores in Connecticut, New York, California, Washington and Oregon. After completing a BA at Wesleyan University in 1961 and an MA at the University of California-Berkeley in Chinese History, Jack worked at the New England Institute for Medical Research. He joined the family business, Ed Mitchell, Inc., in 1969, which was founded by his parents and later became Mitchells of Westport. Mitchells went on to acquire Richards of Greenwich, CT, Marshs of Huntington, Long Island, Wilkes Bashford in San Francisco and Palo Alto, CA, and Marios in Portland and Seattle.
In 2003, Jack launched a “second career” as an author and speaker, keynoting at events for corporations including Morgan Stanley, Conde Nast, Merrill Lynch, Nike, Starbucks, and Harvard University, addressing audiences with Hug Your Customers/ Hug Your People/Selling the Hug Your Customers Way presentations. Jack has appeared on The NBC Today Show, and Kudlow & Cramer TV show as well as numerous radio interviews and online and print articles. Jack has been quoted in national magazines as a customer service and management leadership expert. In April 2005, INC Magazine listed Jack as one of the 26 Entrepreneurs We Love. Jack shares with his family a number of Community leadership Awards from the Anti-Defamation league, The Menswear Division of UJA-Federation of New York, and Sacred Heart University. Jack is on the Yale Cancer Board and Greenwich Hospital Board of Trustees. Areas of interest: management of family businesses and luxury retail, and customer service.