Bill Bass
Fair Ingido

Bill Bass
CEO
Fair Indigo

Bill Bass is CEO of Fair Indigo, a multichannel retailer of its own brand of fair trade apparel, and chairman of its corporate parent Black Wolf Group.  Prior to co-founding Fair Indigo in 2005, Bill ran both Sears’ direct-to-customer business and Lands’ End’s ecommerce business.  Before the sale of Lands’ End to Sears in 2002, he was also responsible for Lands’ End’s international business unit with catalog operations in Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. 

Prior to joining Lands' End in 1999, Bill served as a group director at Forrester Research.  Before that, he co-founded and co-managed the Boston.com Web site, the online subsidiary of the Boston Globe newspaper.  Bill’s business career also includes work as a strategic initiatives manager with Knight Ridder.  Bill currently serves as a director of Tractor Supply Company, is an Army veteran, and received his B.A. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University.

Nancy Behrendt
Senior Director of Global Merchandising
eBags.com

Nancy Behrendt is the Sr. Director of Global Merchandising for eBags.com, the largest online retailer for handbags, luggage, backpacks and laptop bags.

Nancy has been in the specialty retail industry for 25 years as a multi category buyer and merchandising director. In her role as Sr. Director of Global Merchandising she is responsible for the category and brand strategy for the global eBags websites and leads all merchandising and website best practices.

Nancy’s most recent success is the soaring sales of the eBags handbag department. “Our assortment is strong and we continue to build on innovative concepts like our On The Streets shop that features hard-to-find emerging handbag designers from across the nation. We’ve had wild success with videos that introduce these designers to the customer.”

During her 9 years at eBags, Nancy also launched and directed the eBags footwear site 6pm.com, and pioneered its interactive patent- pending shoe and bag coordinator the “Match Maker”. She also manages the content and point of view for Handbags.com, the blogging site powered by eBags. The site features blogs by handbag designers and the latest bag trends.

Nathan Decker
Head of Ecommerce
Evogear.com

Nathan Decker is head of Ecommerce at www.evogear.com where he engages in all aspects of online marketing, virtual merchandising, and website functionality. As an original member of the evo crew he has worn many hats since it's inception in 2002. During his tenure as Senior Manager of Ecommerce his efforts have assisted in establishing Evogear.com as a leading industry retailer, almost doubling revenue for 5 years running. He collaborates with multiple departments to foster innovation and encourage a culture of open communication and constant evolution. He also continues to dominate evo CEO Shilo Jones at Pickleball, Arm Wrestling, Bouldering, and Basketball.

Nathan attended college at Seattle Pacific University where he barely earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Science.

Mercedes DeLuca
Global Customer Experience and Chief Information Officer
myShape

"I always look for clothing that really resonates with me personally, that reflects my personal style. The web provides so much choice, but those choices can be disconnected and impersonal, which can make the web a very overwhelming place to shop. At myShape, we use our Personal Shops to connect women to their personal style so that they feel and look good in their clothes."

A multi-dimensional business leader, Mercedes De Luca has a track record of designing, implementing and leveraging information technology in high technology companies to achieve a broad spectrum of business results. Most recently, she served as VP & Chief Information Executive of Yahoo!, Inc. Responsible for infrastructure, applications, strategy, architecture and the PMO, Mercedes lead a team of over 400 professionals to deliver global IT and Business solutions for Yahoo!® in more than 22 countries and 80 locations worldwide

Fiona Dias
EVP Partner Strategy and Marketing
GSI Commerce

Fiona Dias is Executive Vice President, Partner Strategy & Marketing for GSI Commerce, a leading provider of e-commerce and multi-channel solutions that enable companies to operate e-commerce businesses. GSI’s over 80 partners include Dicks Sporting Goods, Toys “R” Us, Linens & Things, Ace Hardware and Ralph Lauren.

She joined GSI in 2007, and as a recognized leader in the industry, she is responsible for delivering industry insight, best practices and solutions to grow GSI’s partners’ businesses.

Prior to joining GSI Commerce, Fiona was Chief Marketing Officer of Circuit City Stores, Inc, responsible for all marketing activities. She also was President of circuitcity.com whose online revenues exceed $1 billion. Fiona led the revolution of multi-channel marketing with the ground-breaking “24/24” brand promise, guaranteeing that no more than 24 minutes will pass from when an order is placed online at circuitcity.com to when it can be picked up at a Circuit City store, or customers will receive a $24 gift card. She has been quoted in The Financial Times, New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, Internet Retailer and other publications.

Her marketing experience spans multiple industries including consumer goods, healthcare, automotive, snack foods, technology, hospitality and consumer electronics. She serves on the board of directors for Choice Hotels, a publicly traded, global multi-brand hotel franchising company. She has also held the positions of Chief Marketing Officer of Stick Networks, a wireless Internet company, Vice President Marketing for the Frito-Lay Company, a division of Pepsico, Vice President of Corporate Development for Pennzoil Quaker State Company and various brand management positions with The Procter & Gamble Company. She began her career as a financial analyst with Merrill Lynch & Company.

She received her Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude from Harvard University. A native of Kenya, Fiona is married to Floyd Dias, and they manage The Conserve Forever Foundation which advances their life-long passion for environmental conservation and education in Africa.

Bryan Eisenberg
Co-Founder
Future Now Inc.

Bryan Eisenberg is the co-founder of Future Now Inc. [http://www.futurenowinc.com] (OTCBB: FUTR.OB), an interactive marketing optimization firm. He is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, USA Today and New York Times bestselling books Call to Action and Waiting For Your Cat to Bark. His newest book, "Always Be Testing" is available in late summer 2008. He is sought after speaker at major business conferences worldwide. Bryan is proud that Future Now’s clients, including NBC Universal, GE, WebEx, Overstock and Dell, have consistently enjoyed dramatic improvement in sales using Future Now’s Persuasion Architecture®, a framework for optimizing online experiences to maximize lead generation, subscriptions and sales.

Kevin Ertell
Senior Vice President of E-Business
Borders Group, Inc.

Kevin Ertell, Senior Vice President of E-Business for Borders Group, Inc., is a 20+ year veteran of the specialty retail industry and has been a leader in e-commerce since 1997. Kevin heads the development and operation of the new Borders.com and is spearheading digital business efforts as part of Borders Group’s overall cross-channel strategy, which Kevin had a leading role in developing. Before taking on the .com and digital business initiatives for Borders, Kevin was instrumental in launching the highly successful Borders Rewards® customer loyalty program, which now has more than 26 million members, making this program one of the largest of its type in specialty retail.  He has also been responsible for spearheading all of the brand’s e-mail marketing, advertising and CRM programs, which have been recognized as industry-leading.  Prior to joining Borders in August 2005, Kevin spent more than 20 years with Tower Records, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of TowerRecords.com. Kevin's retail-focused marketing and technology skills and experience are ideally suited for his e-business and digital business leadership roles at Borders.  His customer focused approach both informs and drives his efforts to create highly valued and innovative services and promotions for Borders customers.

Laura Evans
Executive Director, Retail
Resource Interactive

With 15 years of industry experience , Laura Evans leads the multidisciplinary retail practice of digital marketing agency Resource Interactive. Laura is an enthusiastic leader who oversees relationships with clients including Wal-Mart, L.L. Bean, DSW and President's Choice sharing big ideas and actionable insights for creating online experiences that meet customers' needs.

Laura is a recurrent panelist and speaker at industry events, and is frequently quoted in the media. Laura has spoken at the Direct Marketing Association's Annual Catalog Conference, GlobalShop, Online Market World, The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business, and ad:tech. Laura was also a judge for the 2006 International ECHO Awards.

Patti Freeman-Evans
Research Director
Jupiter Research

Patti Freeman Evans is the Research Director with Jupiter Research, focusing on multi-channel retail strategy, with nineteen years of diversified experience, expertise in creating customer-centric ecommerce sites, integrating channels effectively, developing innovative marketing initiatives and ensuring high-standard customer service and order fulfillment operations.

Freeman Evans has been quoted in major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and Business 2.0, as well as in industry publications such as Internet Retailer, Executive Technology. Freeman Evans has also appeared on NBC Nightly News.

Before joining Jupiter Research, Freeman Evans held leadership positions with leading internationally know companies like Bloomingdale's and Godiva Chocolatier. Most recently, Freeman Evans was Director of Shopping Services with Bloomingdales.com where she touched on all aspects of the multi-channel retail business. Brought on board to create and launch Bloomingdale's Bridal Registry website with WeddingChannel.com, Freeman Evans directed all aspects of the business, from concept to implementation, including backend, customer service and store integration issues. In her previous capacities at Bloomingdale's Freeman Evans led the International Marketing Department and implemented award-winning multiple-media marketing and retention programs. Further, Freeman Evans has done project work to develop interactive educational products for adults and children.

Freeman Evans holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Studio Art from Franklin and Marshall. In addition to her duties with Jupiter Research, she teaches E-commerce at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Jay Greenberg
Director, eCommerce 
Spencer's

Jay Greenberg is Director, eCommerce with Spencer's. Responsible for both Spencersonline.com and SpiritHalloween.com, Greenberg joined Spencer's in July 2007. Previously Greenberg was eMarketing Manager at Franklin Electronic Publishers where he oversaw all eCommerce activity for Franklin.com as well as managed the catalog business.

An industry veteran, Jay served in a variety of marketing and sales roles with The Franklin Mint, and holds a BS in economics from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of Illinois. 

Vanessa Hofmann
Merchandising Team Leader
Gordian Project

Vanessa Hofmann is the Merchandising Team Leader at Gordian Project, the parent company of Internet retailing sites PlumberSurplus.com and OutdoorPros.com. Vanessa is responsible for the company's marketing, merchandising and search initiatives. Vanessa was instrumental in developing Gordian Project’s marketing department from the ground up, and she managed the execution of their sophisticated site search and merchandising platform. Vanessa is a regular contributor to their eCommerce and Entrepreneurship Blog. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business.

Carrie Johnson
VP, Research Director
Forrester Research

As vice president and research director, Carrie leads a team that researches eBusiness strategies for retail, financial services, travel, and healthcare firms. Carrie’s current research focuses on online and multichannel retailing.

Prior to this position, Carrie spent seven years at Forrester researching the dynamics and growth of online retailing. In this role, she analyzed consumers’ adoption of eCommerce, their multichannel behavior, and how retailers optimize sales to those consumers with key technologies and strategies. In this role, Carrie authored many key Forrester reports, including Forrester’s annual eCommerce forecast. In addition, since 2002, Carrie has been the lead author on The State of Retailing Online, a Shop.org survey conducted by Forrester Research. She has appeared on “NBC Nightly News,” CNBC, and CNNfn to speak about online retail trends and react to various retail news events. She has also been quoted in various newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Boston Globe.

Carrie’s background prior to Forrester includes work at the Harvard Business School, where she wrote case studies on Streamline, Frontgate, PlanetAll, Barnes & Noble, QVC, and TV Guide. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College.

Steve Kahn
VP Interactive Marketing
DSW, Inc.

Steve Kahn is an Ecommerce veteran with an e-history that starts in the mid-90’s in Silicon Valley. After helping to build one of the earliest Email- Direct Marketing start-ups, and providing marketing and technology consulting services, Steve celebrated the millennium in Seattle with Eddie Bauer’s “New Media” group, as they pioneered their way to becoming a true 360-degree business.

Opportunity then knocked in the form of supermodels, as Steve took a key interactive marketing role at Victoria’s Secret Direct. In over 7- yearsVictoriasSecret.com grew to become one of most successful retail sites in the industry.

In November 2006, Steve redirected his focus to Shoes, and joined DSW Inc., a leading retailer of Shoes and Fashion accessories. In his new role, Steve is part of a talented team, building a new direct channel with a goal to support the millions of DSW Rewards® members who all share a passion for shoes.

As an advocate of the ecommerce industry, Steve is proud to have served on the Shop.org Board of Directors for over 5-years, and has been a speaker and panelist at many industry events.

Kevin Lindsay
Director of Marketing
MERCADO

Kevin Lindsay is the Senior Director of Product & Strategic Marketing at Mercado, a leader in eCommerce search and merchandising solutions. Before joining Mercado, Kevin ran his own product marketing consultancy working with technology startups in the areas of mobile, commerce and entertainment. Prior to this, he ran product marketing at Verity, where he had the opportunity to contribute to the development of search and navigation solutions for the earliest eCommerce sites. Kevin is a regular contributor to numerous industry publications, and is a recent transplant to the San Francisco Bay Area.

George is Co-Founder and VP of Client Services at the Rimm-Kaufman Group.  RKG provides Paid Search advertising services using proprietary technology to drive quality traffic to retailer’s websites, and helps companies design more effective websites to convert that traffic.  Prior to joining RKG, George was Marketing Systems Manager at Crutchfield Corporation, and in addition to marketing duties helped their web team design and read web page tests.

George speaks at industry conferences, blogs at RKGblog and SEL, and guest lectures at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and Darden Graduate School of Business.

Stephanie Pike is Strategic Program Manager for Digital Marketing at circuitcity.com. Responsible for all community and content programs, including the continued expansion of third party and social media initiatives, she started at the company in June of 2006. Since that time, she spearheaded numerous endeavors, such as the department page redesign, checkout redesign, and the development of the CityCenter community site. She also led the creation of solution-building and accessorization strategies. Prior to joining circuitcity.com, Stephanie helped develop and manage several medical websites, and is currently consulting with Owens and Minor to rebuild their web platform and develop their online branding strategy. She holds a BS in Spanish and History Education from Auburn University, and will be completing her MBA in Strategic Leadership from the University of Richmond in August.

Adam Silverman is responsible for the success of all aspects of e-commerce for The Wet Seal Inc., one of the nation's largest fashion retailers operating both the Wet Seal and Arden B brands. Responsibilities include application development, marketing, customer service, operations, and P&L. He has also spearheaded the development of the Wet Seal Fashion Community, a unique social commerce site that allows the Wet Seal girl to create, share, rate, discuss, and purchase outfits created by her peers. Prior to working at The Wet Seal, Adam helped build and manage e-commerce properties for babystyle, Wells Fargo, Hewlett Packard, and Chevron. Adam holds a BBA from the University of Massachusetts.

Raul Vazquez
President and CEO
Walmart.com

As President and CEO of Walmart.com, Raul Vazquez oversees the online development and operations of the world’s largest retailer. He was promoted to this position in early 2007.

Previously, Mr. Vazquez served as the chief marketing officer of Walmart.com, and was responsible for all consumer marketing and customer-facing site functionality. He managed teams across a variety of marketing and creative functions including online, email and in-store marketing, consumer insights, category and brand marketing, corporate communications, editorial, design, imagery and information architecture.

Prior to joining Walmart.com, Mr. Vazquez spent four years at startup companies such as Ventro and Onsale. Before that time, he spent several years at a boutique consulting firm that specializes in competitive strategy for Fortune 100 firms, and as an industrial engineer at Baxter Healthcare.

Mr. Vazquez is a graduate of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, and also received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University.

Walmart.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., headquartered in Bentonville, Ark. Walmart.com’s offices are located in Brisbane, Calif.

Brian Walker
Senior Analyst
Forrester Research

Brian serves eBusiness, Channel & Product Management professionals. He researches the effect that technology advancements, operational needs, and changing consumer behaviors have on the online retail industry. Brian has specific expertise in B2C and B2B eBusiness within retail and online travel, and his interests focus on multichannel strategies, user experience design, and technology solutions that facilitate the interactions between consumers, retailers, and brands. Brian has experience with a wide range of eCommerce technologies, ranging from platforms and software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings to analytics, rich imaging, search, online marketing tools, and content management, among others.

Brian is a seasoned Internet and eCommerce leader with extensive experience working with a wide range of commerce platforms and related technologies, such as rich media, analytics, email-marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), content management, digital asset management, dynamic content delivery, and content syndication.

Brian has more than 11 years of experience in eCommerce and online marketing, serving senior roles for large, established online retailers and Web marketers such as Amazon.com, Classmates Online, Inc., Eddie Bauer, Expedia.com, and The Spiegel Group and providing solutions for the online retailers and Web marketers while at Amazon Enterprise Solutions and his own firm. Additionally Brian presided over a start-up company, Swallowtail Solutions, focused on innovative eCommerce solutions for emerging retailers. Brian's roles span both business and technology leadership, from Web marketing, online merchandising, product management, solution architecture, customer experience design, and technology leadership.