Alexandra Wilkis Wilson
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson is an innovator and disruptor. She has established herself as a pioneer, leader in digital commerce, retail, merchandising, sales, business development, and marketing.
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Tags: Branding, eCommerce, global market, Marketing, Retail, Teamwork/Teambuilding, Women in Business
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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson is an innovator and a disruptor. She has established herself as a pioneer, leader and dealmaker in digital commerce, retail, merchandising, sales, business development and marketing. She has a proven track record building and operating early stage, fast-growing consumer-facing businesses and creating powerful brands.
Alexandra recently became SVP of Consumer Strategy and Innovation for Allergan, the bold, global pharmaceutical company and leader in a new industry model – Growth Pharma. She is creating new sources of revenue for Allergan’s medical aesthetics by building businesses targeting consumers in a revolutionary way never been done before in the pharmaceutical sector.
Alexandra was the Co-Founder and CEO of NYC based startup Fitz, the in-home service that organizes your closet and edits your wardrobe. After one year in operation, Fitz was sold to Tradesy, the world’s largest peer-to-peer marketplace for women’s designer fashion.
From 2014 to 2016, Alexandra was Co- Founder and CEO of GLAMSQUAD, the leading on-demand mobile beauty services company. She led the company through rapid growth and raised $24M in venture capital for top tier firms including NEA, Softbank and Lerer Hippeau Ventures.
Alexandra is best known professionally as Co-Founder of the ecommerce sensation, Gilt. In 2007, Alexandra and her co-founders conceived of Gilt and revolutionized the landscape of luxury ecommerce. Throughout her 7+ year tenure at Gilt, Alexandra took on merchandising, sales, business development and marketing responsibilities. In 2016 Gilt sold to Hudson’s Bay Company.
Before co-founding Gilt, Alexandra managed retail operations at Bulgari, overseeing 15 North American stores. Before working at Bulgari, Alexandra managed Leather Goods Sales Planning for Louis Vuitton North America. She had previously worked at Financo for the late retail guru Marvin Traub, former Chairman and CEO of Bloomingdales. Alexandra began her career working for 3 years in investment banking at Merrill Lynch.
Alexandra holds a B.A. from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Alexandra is on the Board of Directors of Corelle Brands (previously World Kitchen, LLC) and Talalay Global Inc. She was a Board Director of Perry Ellis International (Nasdaq: PERY) from 2014-2017. She has served on the non-profit boards of the National Retail Federation Foundation, Dress for Success Worldwide, the Women’s Forum and Fashion Group International. She is an active fundraiser for her alma maters The Brearley School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.
Alexandra, together with Gilt co-founder Alexis Maybank, is the author of the New York Times bestselling book By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop (Portfolio/Penguin).
Alexandra speaks five languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian). She has studied, lived, and worked internationally in Latin America, Europe, and Japan.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson's Programs
Speech Topics
Entrepreneurship 101: Creating A Business From Idea To Launch
It is no secret that most startups fail — how can you prime your start-up for success from the get-go? It’s about creating an entrepreneurial culture and results-oriented working environment that attracts the best talent in the business. It’s also about taking a disruptive idea and turning it into a viable business, employing entrepreneurial thought along the way. READ MORE >
Maintaining Innovation In The Workplace
Most companies and individuals can benefit from incorporating innovative and entrepreneurial thinking and action in the workplace. No matter if you work at a startup or in a big corporate environment, innovation leads to growth, success, job retention and loyalty among employees at all levels. In this presentation, Alexandra explains why it is critical that companies incorporate and welcome innovation and creativity from all levels of an organization.
The Art of Building & Maintaining Your Network
Everyone can benefit from a powerful network. But where do you begin building successful personal and professional relationships… and how can one leverage an existing network? Visiting chapters from her bestselling book, By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, co-authored with Alexis Maybank, Alexandra explains why it’s important to help others whenever possible in order to build good karma — because what goes around truly does come around.
How to Build a Brand
It is critical to build a compelling and consistent brand when launching a consumer facing business. But how can you do this with minimal marketing dollars? In this presentation Alexandra offers tips and insight into getting the word out about your business idea, product or venture even with minimal startup funding. She examines why some brands succeed while others fail and offers hints on how to build your brand quickly yet effectively.
Building a High-Performing Team
Building a team is one of the most critical things you can do to drive results within a business, whether you’re working in the startup or corporate environment. Referencing examples from her own experiences as an entrepreneur, advisor and angel investor, Alexandra examines teamwork at every level of the game, using the Myers-Briggs Test as one of many frameworks for building a high-performance team.
Women in Business and Leadership Today
As a frequent and celebrated speaker at women’s organizations, Alexandra is particularly adept at encouraging women to become leaders and find their true potential in the global workplace. Sharing firsthand experience as a leader and entrepreneur in her own right, she shares stories of working in male-dominated environments including investment banking and the luxury sector, as well as the barriers she shattered in her own endeavors at Gilt and GlamSquad.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson's Books
