Whitman hosts second annual Retail Summit Sept. 22-23

The Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University will host the second annual Retail Summit on Sept. 22-23, to educate students about the field and provide opportunities for them to hear from high-profile members of the Retail Advisory Board, all important leaders in the industry. The summit was created as a means to educate and encourage students to gain exposure and insight into the retail industry and the school’s retail management major.

Activities during the two-day summit include presentations by senior retail management majors to members of the Retail Advisory Board, a mandatory requirement of the retail management major curriculum. There will also be a moderated panel presentation by board members to Whitman freshmen, to educate them on the major and possible careers and opportunities in the field. As part of the retail management major, students are continually supported by the board, which includes senior executives from Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Ross Stores, Crate and Barrel and Fila, among others.

Students will have the opportunity to hear from a number of retail industry leaders as part of the summit. To date, Retail Advisory Board members who will participate during the event include Tim Miner, senior vice president merchandising, TJX Co.; Alan Krisfalusi, vice president of human resources, Ross Stores; and SU alumni Jonathan Greller ’92, senior vice president of menswear, Lord & Taylor; Richard Mast ’71, senior vice president and general manager, Bloomingdale’s; Danny Lieberman ’85, senior vice president of apparel, Fila; Henry Grethel ’54, president, Henry Grethel International; Maureen Baltazar ’89, eastern region vice president, Hermes of Paris; and Karen Alberg-Grossman ’71, editor-in-chief, MR Magazine.

“It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to interact with some of the most respected merchants in the retail field right here on campus. We are very fortunate that they are willing to take time out of their very busy lives to come speak with us,” says Amanda Nicholson, professor of retail practice at Whitman.

The retail management major at Whitman is designed to prepare students for careers as buyers, store managers, apparel product developers and sales/marketing representatives. In addition to getting a firm grounding in all functional areas of business, retail management majors develop special expertise in analyzing retail markets, gain a thorough understanding of the evolution of the domestic and global retail marketplace and the integral connections that occur at every link in the supply chain (from manufacturing and distribution channels to the ultimate consumer) and complete a required full-time supervised internship in areas such as buying, product development, store management and marketing.

For more information on the 2011 Retail Summit, contact Nicholson at (315) 443-9633 or agnichol@syr.edu.