Webinar: Comfort & Women – Why Both are Leading the Way by Fairchild Media Group

About This Webinar

During a period of great change and challenge, many dynamic women in footwear have assumed new roles at the same time they navigate the challenges of the pandemic and new ways of working. Comfort Shoes have also become the forefront of fashion and will continue to do so. Let’s talk about why Comfort Comes First for Women and the benefits of Comfort Shoes.

This webinar will examine these key points:

Agenda

How Female Executives are finding New Solutions for Women around the World
The importance of women’s leadership during periods of crisis: how women lead differently
Your own journey during the pandemic: How you’ve navigated your new role during an unprecedented time, both professionally and personally
How you’re supporting women at your company through formal policies and also in more personal ways
Why function and comfort are having a major comeback
The benefits of wearing a comfortable shoe for a woman to get through her busy day and how women are more concerned with comfort than style
Why comfort is here to stay and why it is the new way of fashion
Comfort is not a “naughty” word and why women are leaning in towards this trend

Presenters

Molly Hartney

Chief Marketing Officer, Rack Room

Molly has an expertise and passion for building brands through experiences, engagement, and creating a strong consumer connection and has held senior leadership positions with global companies across retail and consumer products. In her current role as Chief Marketing Officer at Rack Room Shoes she is responsible for defining and executing the overall creative marketing strategy, establishing a strong consumer connection, and creating a marketing vision for the brand’s future.

Before joining Rack Room Shoes, as Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Digital at Funko, Molly led the strategic global expansion of E-commerce, new product innovation, brand experience, and store designs for the entire Funko product portfolio. Molly also served as Vice President Digital Marketing for The Mine, a Lowe’s affiliated home furnishings company, where she led brand marketing, merchandising, and digital. Earlier in her career, Molly held a variety of brand, product, and ecommerce management positions with Lowe’s, Belk, and Cato.

Molly recently moved cross country from Seattle to North Carolina where she lives with her husband, Bryan, and two kids Cash and Sawyer Ann. She enjoys skiing, boating, and experiencing new adventures with her family.

Susan Itzkowitz

President, Marc Fisher

Susan Itzkowitz brings a wealth of knowledge to Marc Fisher Footwear with more than 30 years of footwear industry experience. As president of Marc Fisher Footwear, Ms. Itzkowitz oversees all aspects of the company, including sales, business operations, digital transformation and cultivating all of the Marc Fisher Footwear brands and new business development. Given her extensive footwear perspective and appreciation for the changing landscape and the digital needs of the business, she is focused on further driving Marc Fisher Footwear’s 13 brands forward and the implementation of Marc Fisher Footwear’s strategic priorities. She has transformed Marc Fisher Footwear by engineering sizable acquisitions of Easy Spirit and licensing partnerships of iconic brands like GUESS, Nine West and most recently Calvin Klein. Under Itzkowitz’s leadership, Marc Fisher footwear also racked up impressive digital growth and notched market share gains across the wholesale division. Marc Fisher Footwear has become one of the largest footwear companies in the US and over 200 associates under her leadership.

Previously, Ms. Itzkowitz was group president at Nine West Group, where she was charged with the oversight and direction of all branded footwear lines. During her tenure, she was responsible for assembling an all-star executive team and achieving record sales growth for the company.

Throughout Ms. Itkowitz’s career, she has championed core values of partnership, passion, and integrity that she has helped establish at Marc Fisher Footwear. She has worked hard to foster female talent at Marc Fisher footwear. She is one of the most prominent supporters of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation and FFANY Shoes on Sale.

Ms. Itzkowitz has also held several positions with leading retailers Federated Department Stores, May Company and JC Penney.

Ms. Itzkowitz received a B.A. from Cornell University.

Allison Giorgio

Vice President of Marketing, PUMA

A native Bostonian and sport + sneaker enthusiast, I’ve been in the brand and marketing world for 20+ years and can’t think of a field more challenging and rewarding. I’m results driven, competitive and I love digging into what makes consumers tick and constantly challenge myself, my peers and my team to identify ways to break through the clutter of the world we live in to make real meaningful connections with the brands and products I so fortunately get to represent. If you can’t find me leading an innovative and dynamic marketing program at PUMA as the Vice President of Marketing (my current gig), you’ll most likely find me traveling the world with my husband and three-step children, taking photographs or probably doing some kind of workout.

Jennie Bell

Deputy Managing Editor, Footwear News

Jennie Bell has spent more than a decade immersed in every facet of the shoe industry, from covering the latest product launches to conducting in-depth interviews with legendary executives and designers. As Deputy Managing Editor of FN, she oversees editorial planning and production for the print magazine, as well as the FN Daily digital newsletter and other special projects. Additionally, she continues to keep her finger on the pulse of multiple markets, including comfort, kids’ and men’s. Prior to joining FN in 2007, she held editorial positions at Louise Blouin Media, Nielsen and AOL, covering everything from real estate to art and restaurants. Jennie currently lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her partner, Dan, and their 1-year-old son, George.

Janice Tennant

Chief Marketing Office, Merrell

Janice Tennant is Chief Marketing Officer at Merrell and believes that everyone should have the right to experience the joys of the outdoors. For over 15 years, she has tapped her passion for consumers to grow globally recognized brands at PepsiCo, Kimberly-Clark, and Wolverine Worldwide.

With a commitment to building a marketing culture of curiosity and innovation, she continues to find new ways to empower the next generation of marketers through the labyrinth of the digital world by creating brands with purpose that drive more meaningful consumer connections.

Janice holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill and a B.A. and B.P.H.E. from Queen’s University in Canada.