Co-Founder, Gilt Groupe & GlamSquad and Co-Founder & CEO, Fitz Co.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson: Biography at a Glance
- Co-founded Gilt Groupe, which revolutionized the landscape of luxury e-commerce
- Co-founded the beauty service app GlamSquad and the in-home closet organization and styling service Fitz
- Wrote The New York Times best-seller By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop
- Previously worked for Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, and Merrill Lynch
Biography
A pioneering dealmaker who found success in the nexus of technology and the luxury goods sector, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson is also an advisor, mentor and angel investor who shares her expertise with diverse entrepreneurs.
Alexandra rose to prominence at the nexus of technology and the luxury goods sector as the co-founder of Gilt Groupe, one of the first flash-sale sites in the U.S., which now claims over 10 million members, ships to over 180 countries and sells more than 4,000 international brands. Over the course of seven years, she assumed multiple roles at the influential start-up, including her initial role as Chief Merchandising Officer. Together with Gilt co-founder Alexis Maybank, she is the author of the New York Times best-selling book By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop (Portfolio/Penguin) documenting the company’s meteoric and much-imitated trajectory.
Prior to Gilt, Alexandra managed retail operations at Bulgari, overseeing 15 North American stores, worked in sales planning for Louis Vuitton North America and also worked at Financo under the tutelage of the esteemed retail guru, the late Marvin Traub. She began her career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, covering telecom, media and technology companies throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America.
In 2014, Alexandra co-founded GlamSquad, a mobile app launched in several major U.S. cities which aims to transform beauty in the same way Uber re-imagined ridesharing for a generation of tech-savvy consumers. Accessible by smartphone, GlamSquad delivers high-quality hair, make-up and nail services into private homes by providing instant makeovers performed by seasoned professionals at an affordable price point.
Alexandra is currently the co-founder and CEO of Fitz Co., which is a part home organizer and part styling service that helps customers get dressed easier.
Passionate about entrepreneurship, Alexandra is entrenched in the New York City startup community as an advisor, mentor and/or angel investor. Birchbox, Rent the Runway, Carbon 38 and Send the Trend (which was sold to QVC), are included among these companies. Alexandra is a Mentor for Techstars and Liberty Media’s Women’s eCommerce Network (WeCN). She is an Advisory Board Member for the Harvard Business School Rock 100 Entrepreneurs Summit and is also on the Entrepreneur Board of Venture for America. Alexandra is on the Board of Directors of Perry Ellis International (Nasdaq: PERY) and serves on the Governance, Investment, Nominating and Compensation Committees.
She has been engaged in several non-profit boards, including, Dress for Success Worldwide, The National Retail Federation Foundation, Women’s Forum of New York, Inc and Fashion Group International. She is also an active fundraiser for her alma maters The Brearley School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.
Alexandra speaks five languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian). She has studied, lived, and worked internationally in Latin America, Europe, and Japan. She holds a B.A. from Harvard College, from which she graduated magna cum laude, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Topics
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.
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. Delving into some of the stories and themes in her bests-elling book By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, Alexandra shares tips on how to start, grow and scale a successful business.
