In the ’90s and early 2000s, graduate business students didn’t really consider retail to be a career. It was seen more as an occupation. But in 2002, the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative, which later became the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center, set out to change that.
The curriculum was focused on the business of retailing and went deep into marketing, merchandising and other related business functions. What further differentiated the center was how it convened retail executives, researchers and academics with students. But the center is most renowned for breeding innovation and leadership. The center, which is located at Tangen Hall at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, also touts an advisory board and director’s council composed of the top executives in retail and fashion and are readily available for summits, ideation and programs with students — and it is all thanks to the vision of Jay Baker.
The current advisory board includes Jay Baker, who serves as the board’s chairman; Mohammed Alshaya, executive chairman of Alshaya Group; Laura Alber, chief executive officer of Williams-Sonoma Inc.; Tim Baxter, CEO of Express; Dorrit Bern, former chairman, CEO and president of Charming Shoppes; William P. Lauder, executive chairman and director of The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.; Tory Burch, founder of Tory Burch LLC; Steve Bratspies, CEO of Hanesbrands Inc.; Emanuel Chirico, chairman and former CEO of PVH Corp.; Silas Chou, president and…
