Talent Spotlight: Scott Russell

Introducing Scott - a people-oriented leader in the boutique fitness space. Currently in his role at REGYMEN Fitness, Scott wears multiple hats. From developing workout programs to training coaches and staff across multiple franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada, Scott is all about creating fun and positive experiences for people. He says that the highlight of his job is getting to work hands-on with the different coaches he trains. 

Having been involved in the start-up stages of the business, Scott is experienced in building things from the ground up, being quick to pivot and try something new, and recognizing different pain points to better align to the larger vision and goals of a company.

Scott is always looking for new opportunities to grow and loves collaborative, team-oriented environments where he can listen and learn from others as much as they listen and learn from him.

When he's not in the studio, Scott loves being at the beach with his friends or cheering on the Oregon ducks as a self-proclaimed die-hard college football fan! Connect with Scott here or at Emerging Blue.

Talent Spotlight: Natalie Cain

Meet Natalie - a positive and high-energy team player who believes in the power of making connections. Coming from a fashion-focused background, Natalie is well versed in all things retail, merchandising, and e-commerce and loves to pour herself into whatever role she is in. In her past roles, Natalie has been recognized as a hard worker who can get the job done but is also someone whose empathy and love for people has made an impact during stressful times in business.

When asked what her favorite part of her career journey has been, she emphasized the experience of getting to master difficult systems that she never would have seen herself thriving in before. As someone who is not daunted by challenges, Natalie has cultivated the ability to buckle down and tackle new tasks by asking questions, listening to others, and trying to understand the underlying tips and tricks of what makes something click.

In her next opportunity, Natalie is looking for a place to bring her e-commerce skills to the table and would love to tap more into her creative side. Being a big people person, Natalie would love to work within a transparent and well-connected team where she can help others and build meaningful connections. Although work is a high priority, Natalie believes that at the end of the day we're all people who have different voices that need to be heard.

When she shuts her laptop down at the end of the day, you can find Natalie out trying new restaurants, looking up new recipes, at the nursery, or out on the golf range trying to improve her game! Connect with Natalie here or at Emerging Blue.

Talent Spotlight - Jana Hunt

Meet Jana Hunt – a Creative Director with experience in the Outdoor and Performance industry across apparel, footwear and equipment. Jana has worked in all facets of the apparel business from retail, wholesale and manufacturing to corporate and startup, where she delivers a wealth of knowledge, perspective and insight. Working with brands like The North Face, Avani Activewear, and Rainbeau, Jana drives a brand vision through impactful storytelling, influencing executive leadership, and attaining cross-functional alignment among regional and global teams.

At The North Face, Jana developed and launched The North Face Iconic Color palette delivering a unified presence of brand DNA in the global market, while simultaneously reducing the corporate palette by 50% eliminating waste and streamlining production. Jana provides a clear and focused path to achieve goals, fosters design thinking, and motivates team members to deliver their best-in-class work that leads innovation. As an inspirational leader, Jana empowers her team members to achieve objectives. As a founding member of the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) at the VF Outdoor Campus, Jana is very passionate about empowering women leaders.

What’s next for Jana? She is excited for an opportunity where she can provide forward thinking creative vision, deliver on organizational goals and values and develop a rock star team. If you are looking for a creative leader in the San Francisco Bay Area or remotely, then Jana is the talent you need. Jana is also offering coaching sessions and workshops for professionals who want to develop their leadership skills. Click here to connect with Jana or reach out to EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Jessica Valdez Cantor

Meet Jessica Valdez Cantor, a multicategory retail and merchandising executive with over 15 years’ experience in the e-commerce, wholesale, and retail spaces working with brands Guess?, Inc., Carter’s, Perry Ellis, and Tacori.

Jessica has a strong fashion sense and visual aesthetic spanning creative campaigns, digital content and in-store display. Additionally, she is an operations and data junkie who enjoys working to improve and advance the consumer experience, internal reporting, and SOPs. Jessica has cross-functional international and domestic experience with Design, Product Development, Sales, Planning, Marketing as well as 3rd party vendors.

Next up for Jessica is a full time or consulting role in merchandising/buying or product development. She is interested in apparel, non-apparel, jewelry or home, but is open to most consumer goods categories. If you are looking for an accomplished, strategic merchandising professional with robust planning experience, then Jessica is the leader you need. Connect with her here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Patrick Fraley

Meet Patrick Fraley! Patrick is a senior apparel executive and product marketing specialist with over 25 years’ experience in the outdoor and action sports market.  He has spent the past few years working on social change and environmental projects, but is also missing our dynamic fashion and consumer goods industries. 

Patrick has worked for large brands like Quiksilver, Billabong and Guy Harvey, focused on product marketing, brand management, and building actionable strategies. The majority of his career has been spent in the role of Brand Director where he has been hands-on in the launch of numerous brands and products. He also spent many years' in sales management, working with some of the largest retailers in the country including REI, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Bass Pro Shops.

A leader and critical thinker, Patrick is also a passionate team player. He follows a brand-first, big-picture philosophy to managing the business, and he loves all things creative. He is especially passionate about men’s fashion. If you’re looking for an apparel leader in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, or Denver, or even remote, then Patrick is the talent you need. Connect with Patrick here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Casey Shilling

Meet Casey – a results-driven Chief Marketing Officer with 20+ years of proven experience working alongside C-suite leadership to build high-growth, innovative lifestyle brands in retail, restaurant, fashion, food, and other consumer verticals. Working with brands like J. Hilburn, Zoës Kitchen, and The Container Store, Casey loves to use her marketing expertise to drive teams toward efficient, full-funnel and omnichannel growth while fostering dynamic workplace cultures.

Casey's spent almost 20 years at The Container Store where her marketing, public relations, and communications leadership contributed to the brand awareness and customer excitement around The Container Store’s differentiated and beloved shopping experience and nationally noted workplace culture. While at Zoës Kitchen, she was proud to lead marketing efforts during a pivotal digital transformation, as well as craft a creative, multi-year partnership with American Airlines on a branded, Zoës inflight food program, which won the 2020 International Flight Services Award for Best Inflight Food or Beverage.

From Casey’s ability to define a strategic vision and execute it, to driving digital transformation and leveraging data analytics to create an enhanced consumer experience, Casey has it all and ready to lead your marketing! Up next, Casey is looking for a marketing leadership role with an innovative brand that creatively engages with customers to create an experience that evokes emotion, inspires loyalty, and adds value to their lives. Connect with Casey here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Annamarie Gavin

Meet Annamarie Gavin, a digital native with a BFA from Parsons in Interdisciplinary Design.  She is a designer and brand vocalist who is passionate and driven within the fashion, home, and beauty industries, having worked with companies such as Airbnb, Tata Harper Skincare, and Soludos.

Annamarie led and managed content and photography while styling for Airbnb Plus listings. She has also created content for email marketing, as well as copyediting, web design, and social media management.  While working at Soludos, she designed custom textiles for footwear. As you can see, Annamarie is obsessed with design!  She is proficient across Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, InDesign, Bridge and AfterEffects. She similarly has extensive experience with Trello, Hubspot, and Planoly. As a style enthusiast with a creative background in design, Annamarie knows how to bring a clear, concise voice to her work.

What’s Annamarie’s next role? While she is based Vermont, she is open to relocating for a full-time graphic designer role. Her goal is to be an art director in the fashion industry, but for now she is focusing on her creative graphic design skills. Looking for an awesome designer? Connect with Annamarie here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - David Lawrence

Meet David Lawrence, a collaborative retail executive with more than 20 years of experience leading buying, merchandising and ecommerce teams in the men’s apparel, accessories and footwear categories. He started his career at May Department Stores before transitioning to Tailored Brands Inc., where he held multiple merchandise roles, including VP/DMM. David also has led teams in digital and ecommerce for Men's Wearhouse and Tailored Brands, overseeing Menswearhouse.com, Josbank.com, and JosephAbboud.com as the VP of Digital Merchandise.

He has many skills and is a high contributor, being very seasoned in business analysis and forecasting, driving sales and growth where he never loses sight of the bottom line. One of his proudest moments was when he launched the omnichannel fulfillment (ship from store) for Menswearhouse.com.

David is passionate about a role where he can bring his digital and merchandising skills to help an organization grow and achieve their goals. He is looking to join a collaborative team in the San Francisco Bay Area but is also open to outside of California for the right opportunity. If you are in need of a merchandise leader who strategically thinks about the "big picture," effectively leads teams, and able to partner with all key stakeholders, then David is the talent you need. Connect with David here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Alison Frech

Meet Alison, a creative and relationship-driven senior stylist and sales leader who has an expert understanding of fit, trends, and style. Having worked with top companies such as Neiman Marcus and Stitch Fix, Alison used her excellent customer service skills to make all her clients look and feel amazing. From being the top producer for Lalique at Neiman Marcus to styling hundreds of clients at Stitch Fix, Alison is truly an inspirational leader.

Aside from her sales and styling skills, Alison, co-created a networking group for women called Wine Women & Networking to have a safe space to gather and share their work, achievements, and any topic meaningful to them.

Alison is a California native and looking to work in Orange County or remotely. If you’re looking for a driven, creative, and seasoned stylist then Alison is the candidate you want! Connect with Alison here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Jennifer Farnworth-Komar

Meet Jennifer, an art director and design leader with experience crafting consumer journey experiences for brands Nike, Under Armour, Google, and McDonald’s to name a few. She has over 15 years of practice curating creative and innovative user experiences. From the creation of innovative campaigns and events for a wide range of brands, to empowering members on her team to foster growth, she is a true leader!

Jennifer loves to tell a brand’s story. She dives deep into what the brand is currently communicating and finds new and insightful avenues to reach target audiences. Whether focusing on strategy and key demographics to give authenticity to the story or connecting more deeply with audiences, it’s all about the experience for her.

Jennifer is in search for a new brand to tell stories with. She is looking for a creative director role where she can use her never-ending passion to create the best and most memorable consumer journey experiences. Jennifer has a passion for streetwear and recently took the Yellowbrick Program at Parsons in streetwear design. She jokes that she is not a “sneakerhead” but she does have a dog named Tinker Hatfield. If you’re looking for a creative design director, connect with Jennifer here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Andrea LaMonica

Meet Andrea, a consumer-centric merchant with experience across a diversified portfolio of global and domestic brands, all distribution channels, wholesale and retail, and price points from value to premium.  Andrea started her career at the Bloomingdale’s Executive Training Program which she describes as “retail bootcamp.”  From there she went to work for J Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nike where she has a proven track record leading and growing strong businesses in men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, performance and lifestyle.  She has a global mindset with experience in the US, UK, Europe, and Asia markets. Andrea’s expertise is in merchandising, creating a product vision and strategy, and working cross-functionally to bring it to life from concept to commercialization. 

One of her proudest moments was when she led the Nike’s Women’s Sportswear Apparel Category and grew the business by $350M in less than 3 years with increases in every region. Andrea really has it all!  She not only can grow categories, but she is also passionate about creating a culture where innovation, experimentation, and creativity can flourish and thrive. She does this by emphasizing the importance of diversity of thought, teamwork, and thoughtful risk taking.

For Andrea’s next opportunity, she is seeking a senior level merchandising or product role. She loves working in a fast-paced, creative environment at a company with inspiring leaders who support their people, invest in technology, and encourage innovation. If you are looking for a merchandising leader who is flexible and will easily adapt to an ever-changing and evolving retail landscape, then Andrea is the talent you need. Connect with Andrea here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Kenny Stewart

Meet Kenny, a performance-focused leader with 30+ years of experience supporting global technology and product innovation for companies such as JCP, Nike, Harley Davidson, Wrangler, and other mass retailers. Kenny has experience leading cross-functional design, sourcing and production, processing facilities, product safety, and environmental compliance teams. 

Fun fact, Kenny is certified as a scrum master. From his workflow and process efficiency skills to being a seasoned leader with the ability to build strong relationships, Kenny brings a lot of experience with him. Kenny has the passion and direct, proven experience to lead companies toward success while maximizing the efforts of everyone on his team. He is also humble, honest, and thoughtful all while being a creative problem solver. Outside of work, Kenny loves just about any outdoor sport, especially Golf!

What’s Kenny up to nowadays? When Kenny is not spending quality time with his family, he is looking for an exciting role in Product Innovation, Research & Development, and Quality Assurance & Testing. If you are looking for a successful leader who can innovate, provide technical support, and focuses on creating new growth opportunities, then Kenny is the visionary leader you need. Connect with Kenny here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Amy Callaway

Meet Amy, a store designer, brand storyteller, and project manager.  Amy has worked in retail for more than a decade, bringing brand stories to life through in-store experiences and well curated visual designs. Working with Urban Outfitters, The North Face, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dick’s Sporting Goods, REI, and Vail Resorts, Amy creatively designs beautiful spaces and experiences that connect with people from the moment they enter the store.

Amy has done it all, from large retail stores to pop-up shops.  Amy considers every detail that goes into a successful store, from environmental design, fixtures, props, and styling, to store flow, graphics, and messaging.  Adding to her successful career in retail design, Amy is a passionate leader.  She created an employee resource group for The North Face and Jansport, dedicated to women’s empowerment, diversity and inclusion events.

Next up for Amy is a brand in-store experience role. She loves story-telling through visual merchandising and store design. She wants to collaborate cross-functionally to bring brands to life, engage with customers and make everyone feel like part of the experience. If you are looking for an expert who specializes in store and environmental design, with top-notch visual merchandising and project management skills, then connect with Amy here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Talent Spotlight - Eric Tietje

Meet Eric, a Global Product Line Manager, who loves to build product strategy and make design vision come to life.  Eric has worked with The North Face, Winterstick Snowboards, Grundens, and SOG Knives & Tools.  As a Senior Product Line Manager at TNF, one of his greatest achievements was building the uniforms for the Sochi Olympic Games.  At Grundens, as a Global Product Director, he introduced the first commercial fishing gear for women.  No doubt, Eric is passionate about technical product, teaming-up with his cross-functional partners, and exceeding business merchandising goals.

Eric has experience managing product lines for both soft and hard goods, from technical outerwear to snowboards and knives.  He loves to expand brands and push their categories through R&D, innovation, and creative strategy.  His expertise in defining products to help brands grow their target market is proven. His mentality is that if a project needs to get done, he is determined to accomplish it no matter what with his team.

If you are looking for a leader to drive product lines in California or Seattle, then Eric is the talent you need. Connect with Eric here or at EMERGING BLUE.

Click here to read more Talent Spotlights.

Talent Spotlight - Erin Hogue

Meet Erin Hogue – a merchandising leader with more than 20 years’ of experience working with brands like JCPenney and The Container Store. She loves the art of shopping, the trend and working to create something beautiful. Erin has spent the last 16 years at The Container Store where she developed new products from concept through creation. In fact, it is her expertise that propelled The Container Store to dominate the closet market where she was able to boost revenue from 60 to 300 million. Her latest role was VP of Merchandising which is her strong suit since she loves the strategy side of the business.

Erin's many top skills include excellent communication, cross-functional team leadership, project management, passionate problem solving, and motivating others to success. In addition, Erin is fantastic with global supply chain management, financial analysis, negotiation, product development, strategic thinking, product and assortment management, continuous process improvement, brand partnerships and positioning, patent strategy, and vendor relationships.

What’s next in store for Erin? She is open to different avenues, but would love to be a VP of Merchandising or Product Development. If you’re interested in Erin leading your team, reach out to Erin here or reach out to us at www.emergingblue.com

Talent Spotlight - Meet Kristine Vegas

Meet Kristine Vegas, an expert Creative Services Manager with over 15 years’ experience working with known brands such as Title Nine, The North Face, and Lucy Activewear. Some wins for her that stand out were implementing project management tools at The North Face and Lucy Activewear, rolling out the processes, and ensuring everyone was trained and set up for success. She also managed the large outdoor retailer event in Denver for The North Face. She successfully led the project, from hiring outside vendors to guaranteeing the agenda went effortlessly the day of the event. In addition, she strongly believes in sustainability and presented her data, saving The North Face over $300K with conversion to recycled materials.

Kristine’s added value is that she is a strong team leader, a collaborator, and prides herself in her seasoned communication skills. She defines herself as a people person, and loves to grow teams. What is next in store for Kristine? She is looking to join a creative services team for a retail, digital, or SaaS company where she can bring her project management skills to an awesome organization. If you are looking for a creative project manager, then Kristine is the leader you need.

Connect with Kristine here or at Emerging Blue!