The Future of the Web - How its Radically Reshaping the Luxury Market

Date:
Wednesday July 16, 2008

Time:
8.00 - 9.45 am

Location:
Plaza Athenee
Le Trianon Room,
Second Floor
37 East 64th Street
(at Madison Avenue)

On the heels of yesterday's historic ruling against eBay, the online marketplace is changing yet again. This victory for luxury goods providers is a large step in regulating what many have long feared about the web. How does this and other recent advancements affect today's marketer and the marketer of the future?

The web is reshaping the way we do nearly everything in our lives, from the way we work to the way we communicate with friends, the way we shop to the way we access information. In today's online world marketers must be attuned to advancements in technology and the growth of this ever-changing media, an "e-tail" space defined by speed and access to a wealth of information.

In the past the internet was misconstrued as being too mass and lacking the "personalized" luxurious experience one receives when visiting a luxury store in person. The desire to experience a product first hand through touch, feel, and smell has been replaced through advancements in technology to a virtual presence; a visual and sound experience that is one-on-one with the consumer. The community of knowledge assembled online has become an indispensable resource for the consumer; whether they read about a product through a peer review or in an online editorial or blog. Knowing how to manage this plethora of information and how to utilize this and other media of your brand are integral to the future of marketing.

Our panelists will discuss where they see the web going in relation to the luxury space and how their own businesses are being shaped and utilizing the internet as an ever more important ally to their businesses.

As president of SpaFinder, Inc., Susie Ellis leads the world's most prominent spa marketing, media, and research company - connecting the largest global network of spas to millions of spa consumers worldwide.

Author of the popular Ask Susie column in Luxury Spa Finder Magazine , "Susie's Blog" on Spafinder.com, and the SpaFinder Insider industry e-newsletter, Ms.Ellis is recognized worldwide as the leading authority on the spa industry, the evolving spa consumer, and spa-related health, wellness, beauty, fitness and lifestyle trends. She also leads the company's charitable and community-facing ventures, including SpaFinder's initiative to raise awareness of, and help prevent, melanoma skin cancer.

Ms. Ellis began her career in spa at the Golden Door (California), where she helped build one of the world's most influential spa programs, and later became the first spa director of the Greenhouse Spa at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. She has also served on the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, chaired by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ms. Ellis is a frequent speaker at industry events around the world, and her spa industry insight has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Time magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Newsweek and in other well known media. She holds a MBA from UCLA.

Steve Nobel is the co-founder and Chairman of The Luxury Home Alliance, established in New York as a ‘green-house’ for innovative marketing collaborations.

He is also founder and principal of NOBELINKS, a consulting practice specializing in the markets for home furnishings, decorative fabrics and interior design, worldwide.

Steve’s wide-ranging network of professionals enables him to quickly recognize trends in design and impart valuable guidance to designers, marketers and others in the home design arena.

A respected leader in the home furnishings market for over 25 years, Steve has held executive positions in marketing, planning strategic growth, manufacturing and licensing. He was an owner and president of The John Widdicomb Company, maker and marketer of fine furniture worldwide including such significant licensed collections as Mario Buatta and Jacques Grange. He also served as Managing Director of Baker, Knapp and Tubbs, Ltd. in London.

Steve is the author of "Aiming at Affluence; Marketing Interior Design to Luxury Clients," in which he presents key insights into the opportunity interior designers can seize in the luxury market. In the book, he sketches the primary attributes of the luxury client, and reveals effective strategies for winning their business and long-term loyalty. Appointed by ASID as a “Distinguished Speaker”, Steve often appears before large audiences of interior designers in showrooms and design centers throughout North America.

Mr. Sheldon is currently the CEO and Founder of Portero. Since 2004, Portero has been serving the luxury lifestyle, offering unparalleled access to the finest in pristine & pre-owned luxury goods. Portero’s mission is to be the premiere online auction-based marketplace for luxury merchandise. As an independent auction marketplace, we differ considerably from traditional authorized dealers who sell only current product at fixed retail prices. At Portero, you’ll experience the energy and excitement of online auctions, while discovering exquisite merchandise as well as extraordinary values.

Mr. Sheldon has spent the past 20 years in venture capital, private equity, and high technology. He is a veteran executive, having been involved in over 80 portfolio companies worldwide, including 15 boards, representing a combined initial portfolio value of approximately $600 million.

He served most recently as president of ETF Group, where he was actively involved in the firm's US companies, including eWork Exchange, Beast Financial Services, Commerce One, eFusion, Panacya, and Hotspot FX. Prior to ETF, Mr. Sheldon founded and led the international private equity business for Trust Company of the West, where he built joint venture offices in India, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina and established the firm's cross-border private equity investment strategy. Mr. Sheldon has also had significant positions in sales at Hewlett-Packard and investment banking at Merrill Lynch.

He holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School, and a BS in Engineering/Computer Science from Northwestern University.

Prior to launching Halogen Guides, Greg was an active private and public company investor, and currently serves on the board of Red Envelope. From 1996 to 2000, Greg was an executive at America Online, overseeing more than $600 million in annual revenue. Greg joined AOL after the acquisition of 2Market, an interactive shopping startup he co-founded.

Greg is a Sloan Fellow from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Halogen Guides publishes independent and objective lifestyle advice for affluent consumers. Founded as Helium Report in 2005, the company is led by Greg Shove, a veteran of America Online, and Jamie Cheng, a former senior manager at online retailer RedEnvelope. The lead investor and chairman is Jim Kohlberg. Halogen Guides is privately owned.

www.halogenguides.com

Tim Vasko is the Founder and Chairman of Realestock.com, the first online community and global search comparison engine dedicated to the purchase and sale of luxury real estate properties and developments from the world’s most esteemed locations. His successful visionary strategy enabled him to establish Realestock.com in alliance with expert and recognized partners, including Sotheby’s International Realty and Four Seasons Properties.

The creation of Realestock.com synergizes Vasko’s extensive personal research and focus on technology, marketing, global business markets and finance. His diverse background, woven through a myriad of industries and business models through the U.S., Europe, Asia and Canada, enables him superior international markets focus and access.

Vasko is a lifelong international entrepreneur, where he has led and restructured companies both private and public. Complimenting his leadership at Realestock.com, Vasko serves as CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of CMAEONTM, formerly Convergent Media Network, Inc. (CMN), a company he founded in 1996; and is Professor of International Entrepreneurship and Business Technology at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.

Past positions include CEO of VIP Global Capital; a NASDAQ-listed merchant banking, merger and acquisition leveraged buy-out holding company; Co-founder of Cavko, Inc., a commodities brokerage office of Refco, Inc., the world's largest commodities trading organization; and Finance Planning Agent for Ameritus Financial, where he was the leading sales agent achieving record-breaking success.

Vasko is an internationally recognized speaker in the areas of real estate, marketing technology, business process and motivational experiences for executives. Past audiences he has addressed include Sotheby’s International Realty Global Network Conference; European Blackberry Symposium: Emerging Mobile Technologies and Island Tech Conference: Technology Drives the Global MarketPlace.

Vasko is an international business graduate of University of Arizona and University of Colorado, and received his MBA from the University of Denver. An avid extreme-skier, mountaineer, and ocean kayaker, he resides in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife and children.

RealEstock.com, a CMAEON company, has helped facilitate over nearly half a billion dollars in sales from around the world for some of the most recognized and prestigious brands on Earth. Leading industry clients, such as the Four Seasons, Sotheby’s International Realty and Dockside Green, select RealEstock as their premier online marketing, web design and technology partners. RealEstock services have helped these brands and organizations to build their businesses, obtain quality leads, and increase real estate sales around the globe.

Nestled among the residences of the fashionable East Side of Manhattan, on a quiet tree-lined street, this charming boutique hotel is just a stroll away from Central Park, Madison Avenue shopping, museums and business areas. This elegant, European-style hotel, known for providing the ultimate in personalized service offers 114 guestrooms and 35 suites, some with glass enclosed indoor terraces and outdoor balconies.

Le Trianon
Le Trianon, the hotel’s banquet and meeting space is elegantly appointed in natural earth tones with ten windows providing natural daylight. These beautifully decorated surroundings are equipped with built-in white board, screen and new sound system. Le Trianon I and II can accommodate up to 100 for banquets and may be divided into two separate, private rooms.