Perceiving a void in the market for a sophisticated American aesthetic at accessible price points, Tory Burch wanted to create stylish yet wearable clothing and accessories for women of all ages. She launched her lifestyle collection of sportswear and accessories in 2004 with the opening of a flagship store in New York City.

Ms. Burch draws inspiration from her favorite era-the 1960s and 1970s-and such style influences as her mother's and father's vintage wardrobes, the work of interior designer David Hicks, and American style icons such as Slim Keith, Talitha Getty and Babe Paley.

Blending classic design elements with modern fashion sensibilities, she accents her work with bohemian and ethnic details. Known for bold and graphic prints, she relies on color to convey the spirit of each collection.

Ms. Burch has spent her entire career in fashion, including stints at Zoran, Harper's Bazaar, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Loewe, but began designing with her own collection. In 2005, Fashion Group International awarded her the Rising Star Award for Retail. Next month, Ms. Burch will receive the Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Award for Accessory Brand Launch of the Year.

Tory Burch is sold in 10 freestanding stores in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas, as well as Greenwich, Connecticut, Costa Mesa, California, Bal Harbour, Florida, and East Hampton and Central Valley, New York. The collection is also available at more than 300 department and specialty stores worldwide.

Millard Drexler invested in and became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J. Crew Group Inc. in 2003.

Over the past four years, he and his team have brought new inspiration to the J. Crew brand, taking it public on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2006. Last year, Mr. Drexler announced the launch of two new J. Crew Group companies: crewcuts-a children's collection, known as "the clothes you love, slightly smaller"-and Madewell, a new collection of "real, honest, works-with-everything clothes for women."

Prior to joining J. Crew, Mr. Drexler spent 18 years at Gap Inc., where he was named president in 1987 and Chief Executive Officer in 1995. While he was there, the company grew from $400 million to $14 billion in sales. Mr. Drexler also engineered a business turnaround at Ann Taylor, while serving as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1980 to 1983.

Born and raised in the Bronx, he began his career at Bloomingdale's in 1968.

Mr. Drexler also serves as a Director on the board of Apple Inc.

At the helm of one of the Middle East's fastest-growing luxury retail businesses, Shireen El Khatib oversees a portfolio encompassing more than 20 luxury fashion and jewelry brands and a team of 1,100 employees.

Beginning her career with Al Tayer Group in 1992, from a background in advertising with J. Walter Thompson in Dubai, Ms. El Khatib was initially focused on introducing Bulgari to the region. She subsequently assumed greater responsibility as General Manager for the Luxury Fashion and Jewelry Division.

Ms. El Khatib has played a defining role in shaping the future of luxury retail in the United Arab Emirates, opening two new stores a year since 1993. Instrumental in the growth of Al Tayer Group, she has been the force behind many milestones, including the opening of the first Bulgari store in the Middle East in 1993, the launch of a UAE Giorgio Armani in 1994 and the unveiling of the largest Harvey Nichols store outside the United Kingdom in 2006, among several others.

In her current position as Chief Executive Officer of Al Tayer Insignia, she heads the largest luxury fashion and jewelry portfolio in the Middle East, with 58 mono-brand and multi-brand stores in the UAE, Bahrain and Lebanon. Armani, Bulgari, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Loro Piana, Michael Kors and Yves Saint Laurent are among the brands in her portfolio.

Born to an Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father, Ms. El Khatib spent her formative years in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, then moved to France to acquire a degree in international business administration in Paris. Multilingual, she is fluent in English, Arabic, French and Italian and is an avid traveler. Through her education, work and travels, Ms. El Khatib has been exposed to a mosaic of cultures and influences, which she believes has contributed to her professional success.

Recognized as an innovative leader, Jane Elfers rose through the ranks at Lord & Taylor to become President and Chief Executive Officer at age 39 in 2000, only the second female president in the retailer's long history. Ms. Elfers has since earned many accolades for her strategic plan to reposition Lord & Taylor as an upscale department store.

Ms. Elfers has executed that strategy with upscale differentiated product, upgraded proprietary brands, more attractive and efficient shopping environments, streamlined overhead and the closing of underperforming stores. Each move has been designed to make Lord & Taylor relevant to a new generation of shoppers, while holding on to its core customer base.

Her success has been measured not only by the rising profitability of Lord & Taylor but also by its recent purchase by NRDC Equity Partners, an acquisition that might have never happened without Ms. Elfer's leadership.

Ms. Elfers grew up in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. After attending Bucknell University, where she received a BS in business management, Ms. Elfers joined the executive training program at the former Bamberger's chain in New Jersey and became a buyer. Ms. Elfers moved to Lord & Taylor and in 1999, after assuming key merchandising positions of increasing responsibility, she was named Executive Vice President.

She and her husband, Peter, have a young daughter. She has been honored with the National Mother's Day Committee "Outstanding Mother Award." She has also received the Equal Opportunity Award from NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Stefani Greenfield and business partner Uzi Ben Abraham opened the first SCOOP in 1996, introducing the "ultimate closet" concept to New York's time-deprived women. Today, the concept has been expanded to include men and kids-and 14 boutiques, earning SCOOP a respected place in the retail and fashion industries.

SCOOP is merchandised by color, classification and trend to mirror the "ultimate fashion editor's closet." Sales associates serve as wardrobe builders, providing personal service to busy shoppers. The product mix of "trend-inspired" clothing allows customers to wear the look of the moment without portraying the role of a "fashion victim." Menswear has been in the mix since 2001 and kids since 2005.

SCOOP has boutiques in New York, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago and Atlantic City as well as Greenwich, Connecticut, and East Hampton and Greenvale, New York. After opening a beach shop in Mykonos, Greece, this year, SCOOP is eyeing additional international beach shops and a full-line store in London.

To further the brand's growth, Ms. Greenfield has launched Scoop Style, an interactive show on the Home Shopping Network, featuring a mix of private-label and branded goods.

After graduating from Tulane University, Ms. Greenfield began her career with Donna Karan. She left her position as National Sales Director at DKNY Jeans to work with Esprit founder Suzy Tompkins as Vice President of Design and Merchandising for her signature collection and Esprit. A year later, she and Mr. Ben Abraham conceptualized SCOOP.

Regarded as an industry authority, Ms. Greenfield is often quoted in WWD, DNR, The Wall Street Journal and the The New York Times. She appears monthly on Today as a fashion expert and is host of MSN's new fashion and beauty online programming, Style Studio.

Ms. Greenfield is a co-founder of Love Heals, the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. She also is active in the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Baby Buggy and Council of Fashion Designers of America's Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

Ralph Lauren began his design career in 1967 with an innovative neckwear line that launched the "wide-tie revolution" and marked the beginning of the Polo label. The following year saw the introduction of his first menswear collection. At a time when the focus was being placed on the separate pieces of a man's wardrobe, Mr. Lauren pulled all the elements together as part of a wider concept. Two years later, he revolutionized the concept of the retail environment with the first shop-within-a-shop at Bloomingdale's.

In 1972, a full womenswear line was launched with Ralph Lauren's first fashion show for women. It featured an innovative collection of tailored clothing, which provided, for the first time, feminine designs and cuts with the beautiful, rich fabrics, authentic details and nuances of menswear tailoring.

Taking the next step in advancing his philosophy of total design, in 1978 Mr. Lauren introduced his first fragrances, Polo for Men and Lauren. This was the first time in fashion history that two fragrances-one for men and one for women-were launched together. Since then, Ralph Lauren has continued to introduce lifestyle fragrances to complement his apparel lines.

With the 1981 opening of his New Bond Street Ralph Lauren store in London, Mr. Lauren furthered the influence of American style overseas by becoming the first American designer with a European boutique.

In keeping with the vision and focus of creating an inviting and aspirational world of lifestyle products, Ralph Lauren Home debuted in 1983, marking the first time a fashion designer launched an entire home collection.

In 1986, breaking new boundaries in retail, Ralph Lauren took over the reconstruction of the Rhinelander mansion as a New York flagship store. The entire building was designed to re-create the classic opulence of the original mansion and transform the cinematic feel of Ralph Lauren clothing and advertising into a physical environment. Today, along with that flagship, there are more than 292 Ralph Lauren stores in cities such as Chicago, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, London, Tokyo, Paris and Buenos Aires. In recent years, Ralph Lauren has continued to expand globally with store openings in Milan, Tokyo and Moscow.

In 2000, the company launched Polo.com, the first website of its nature, providing services, content and product sales to an increasing community of users and creating a context around products that have defined the Polo Ralph Lauren experience.

In 2002, the RRL flagship store opened in New York. RRL is a revitalized line of rugged and timeless clothes, inspired by an eclectic series of vintage pieces. In 2004, Ralph Lauren launched Rugby, a full lifestyle collection designed for men and women ages 16 to 34.

Mr. Lauren is the only designer to receive the Council of Fashion Designers of America's four highest honors-the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award, the Menswear Designer of the Year Award and the Retailer of the Year Award, as well as the CFDA's Humanitarian Leadership Award. In addition, in June 2007 the CFDA awarded him the first ever American Fashion Legend Award.

Mr. Lauren has a strong commitment to philanthropy. Beginning in 1994, he led the fashion industry in its support of breast cancer research with the CFDA initiative Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. In 1989, he co-founded the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown University. In 1998, Polo Ralph Lauren announced a corporate gift of $13 million to preserve the Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem. The company launched the Pink Pony Campaign in 2000 to support cancer care and prevention in medically underserved communities. The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation was established in 2001. Currently, the Foundation administers approximately $4.5 million in corporate and foundation grants and conducts the Polo Volunteers program. In response to the events of September 11, 2001, Polo Ralph Lauren created the American Heroes Fund, which raised $4 million for relief efforts and established a college scholarship program for children of victims. In 2003, Polo Ralph Lauren established the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem.

Mark Lee has been Chief Executive Officer of Gucci since July 2005, having served as President and Managing Director since November 2004.

Under Mr. Lee's leadership, Gucci achieved record performance in 2005 and 2006, growing sales 18.4 and 16.8 percent, respectively, and surpassing 2 billion euro for the first time at the end of 2006. Gucci continues to retain a high degree of direct control over operations, with more than 70 percent of worldwide revenue coming from Gucci's 219 directly operated stores around the world as of the end of 2006. Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci designs, manufactures and distributes luxury leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear clothing, silks, timepieces and fine jewelry.

Mr. Lee joined Gucci in 1996 as Worldwide Director of Women's Readyto- Wear. In 1997, be became Worldwide Merchandising Director, responsible for global merchandising of all Gucci Division product categories.

In December 1999, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Yves Saint Laurent.

Prior to joining the Gucci Group, Mr. Lee was Managing Director of Jil Sander America Inc., where he established a subsidiary company for Jil Sander in North America. Before joining Jil Sander, Mr. Lee was with Giorgio Armani, responsible for all commercial and wholesale activities in North America.

An American citizen, Mr. Lee graduated from New York University.

Mackey J. McDonald is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VF Corp., a global leader in branded apparel with $7 billion in sales. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, VF is the parent company of brands such as Lee, Wrangler, JanSport, Nautica, The North Face and Vans.

Mr. McDonald was named VF Chairman in 1998. He has been Chief Executive Officer since 1996 and served as President from 1993 to 2006. Under his leadership, VF Corp. has expanded its operations worldwide, building a portfolio of growing lifestyle brands sold in the United States, Europe, South America and Asia.

On January 1, 2008, Eric C. Wiseman will succeed him as Chief Executive Officer. Continuing as Chairman, Mr. McDonald will remain involved on a full-time basis with acquisition identification, talent development programs, customer relations and board management.

His career at VF began in 1983, when he joined the company's Lee Division as Assistant Vice President, Merchandising Services. From 1986 to 1991, he held the successive positions of Executive Vice President and President of Wrangler. In 1991, Mr. McDonald was named VF Group Vice President, responsible for the company's Lee, Wrangler, JanSport and Healthtex divisions.

Mr. McDonald holds a BA degree from Davidson College and an MBA in marketing management from Georgia State University. Prior to obtaining his MBA, he was a pilot in the U.S. Army, where he flew observation missions in Vietnam, completing his tour of duty at Fort McPherson, Georgia.

Mr. McDonald currently serves on the boards of Wachovia Corp. and The Hershey Company. He also is a member of the RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association) and the executive committee of the Greensboro Partnership, and is Chairman of the economic development committee, Action Greensboro.

Mohan Murjani's career in fashion has centered on creating, building and managing lifestyle designer brands.

Born in India, raised in India and Hong Kong and educated in the United Kingdom and United States, Mr. Murjani joined the family business in 1966. After starting in retailing in Shanghai in 1930, The Murjani Group had moved into manufacturing in 1952, establishing one of Hong Kong's first apparel manufacturing facilities.

When Mr. Murjani entered the business, the group began its transition from manufacturing to designer lifestyle brand development and marketing with the launch of its first brand in the United States, Marco Polo. Gloria Vanderbilt jeans followed in 1976 and Tommy Hilfiger sportswear in 1985.

In 2000, Murjani saw an emerging opportunity for retailing international brands in India, given the rapid growth in the consuming class and rise of disposable income. The group's India strategy revolved around the creation of a multi-brand retail platform for premier international brands.

In 2004, Murjani launched its first international lifestyle brand in India, Tommy Hilfiger. Within the first year, the group opened eight freestanding Tommy Hilfiger stores in six cities. Pioneering the concept of lifestyle brands in India, Murjani also launched several licensed categories, including eyewear, watches, shoes and fragrance, through relationships with some of India's well-established companies. Today, Tommy Hilfiger licensed products are available in more than 300 hundred retail outlets.

In the second phase of its India strategy, Murjani secured exclusive long-term rights for India to several well-known brands, including Gucci, Jimmy Choo, La Perla, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, French Connection, Tumi and Build-A-Bear Workshop.

To create the right environment for showcasing luxury products, Murjani has launched The Galleria, a luxury mall scheduled to open in Mumbai next month. Over the next five years, the group plans to open more than 500 stores throughout India.

Suzie Reider joined YouTube as Chief Marketing Officer in September 2006. She assumed her current position following Google's November 2006 acquisition of YouTube. She is responsible for overseeing the company's marketing and advertising sales teams.

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video and the premier destination for watching and sharing original videos worldwide through a web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs and email.

Previously, Ms Reider was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Games and Entertainment Division of CNET Networks Inc., which includes GameSpot, TV.com and MP3.com. She oversaw all aspects of the business, including product development, ad sales, marketing strategy and online advertising research trends.

Before joining CNET Networks, Ms. Reider spent 14 years with Ziff-Davis publishing, where she leveraged her expertise in advertising sales, promotions, events, research and marketing for various computer and video gaming publications.

Ms. Reider received a BA in English from Middlebury College. A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, she now lives in San Francisco with her husband and two daughters.

Rishad Tobaccowala is Chief Executive Officer of Denuo, which works with clients as varied as Hewlett Packard, Kellogg's and DuPont on futures-focused strategy, research, ideas, program management and ventures. He also serves as Chief Innovation Officer of Publicis Groupe Media, a management board that oversees two major media networks, Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and Zenith Optimedia, which together allocate more than $45 billion in spending.

Prior to his assuming these roles, Mr. Tobaccowala was founder and President of SMG Next, the first and most comprehensive futures practice in the media industry. SMG Next launched several successful practices, including: SMG Play, the first company to leverage video games as a marketing platform; the word-of-mouth practice Reverb; and Digits, a leader in mobile marketing. The TV 2.0 practice he developed focuses on the future of consumer engagement with video marketing messages. Mr. Tobaccowala was also responsible for developing SMG Search, which specializes in leveraging search applications for leading spenders in the category, including General Motors.

Previously, Mr. Tobaccowala was President and founder of SMG IP, the digital and interactive arm of SMG. He played a central role in shaping the agency, which was selected by Media magazine as both 2002 and 2004 Interactive Agency of the Year.

Mr. Tobaccowala has more than 25 years of marketing and strategy experience across a wide spectrum of clients and companies. He was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders in 2005 for his pioneering innovation, and Time magazine once dubbed him one of five Marketing Innovators. He was appointed to Advertising Age's Interactive Hall of Fame; named Adweek's 2000 Media All-Star for Interactive Media; dubbed OMMA magazine's Media Strategist All-Star for 2005; and named one of 2005's Best Leaders by BusinessWeek.

Mr. Tobaccowala holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

As President of Steve & Barry's, Andy Todd works with Co-Chief Executive Officers Steve Shore and Barry Prevor and Chief Operating Officer Gary Sugarman to oversee all company operations.

Mr. Todd joined the company in 1998 as Executive Vice President, responsible for business development, and assumed his current position in 2000. Under his direction, the company has evolved from a small group of college campus T-shirt shops to a national chain of more than 200 mall-based stores with apparel and accessories for the entire family.

Mr. Todd has been instrumental in expanding Steve & Barry's product assortment through high-profile sportswear, activewear and athletic performance gear partnerships. In 2006, Steve & Barry's teamed up with New York Knicks star Stephon Marbury to develop the Starbury Collection of urban-inspired apparel and footwear, highlighted by the $14.98 Starbury II high-performance basketball sneaker. This year, Steve & Barry's launched BITTEN, a sportswear collection created by fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker that features nearly 500 apparel and accessory pieces, each priced at $19.98 or less.

Steve & Barry's has also inked partnerships with PGA golfer Bubba Watson, comedic actress Amanda Bynes, and Chicago Bulls star Ben Wallace. EleVen, a collection created with tennis star Venus Williams, will hit Steve & Barry's stores next month.

Prior to joining with Steve & Barry's, Mr. Todd served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Going Greek Inc., an 18-store chain that he created and built into the nation's largest retailer and wholesaler of merchandise for collegiate fraternities and sororities.

Mr. Todd graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a BS in history.

Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob are responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the last three decades.

Champions of independent cinema since co-founding Miramax Films in 1979, the brothers left Miramax in 2005 and launched The Weinstein Company, a multimedia enterprise that includes the Dimension Films genre label begun at Miramax. The Weinsteins actively work on the production, development, acquisition and distribution of projects for TWC and Dimension.

Upcoming films to be released by The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films include Grace Is Gone, starring John Cusack; Anton Corbijn's Control, about former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis; and The Great Debaters, directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey.

The Weinsteins began their film careers on the principle that they could take European films and films with difficult subject matter and market them in an innovative way. Naming their first company after their parents, Miriam and Max, who introduced them to a love of cinema, the Weinsteins utilized specialized marketing and distribution strategies, individually tailoring each film's release to suit its particular strengths. Their inventive technique produced many artistic success stories.

Under their leadership, Miramax received 16 Best Picture nominations in 15 years: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Chicago, Gangs of New York, In the Bedroom, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, Shakespeare in Love, Life Is Beautiful (La Vita é Bella), Good Will Hunting, The English Patient, Il Postino (The Postman), Pulp Fiction, The Piano, The Crying Game and My Left Foot, as well as a Best Picture nomination for The Hours, which was a co-production. Miramax also received 249 Academy Award nominations and won 60 Academy Awards.

During their tenure, Miramax demonstrated a commitment to cinema around the world and received 24 Best Foreign Language Film nominations in 17 years for such releases as Amélie (France), Everybody Famous (Belgium), Life Is Beautiful (Italy), Children of Heaven (Iran), Four Days in September (Brazil), Beyond Silence (Germany), Kolya (Czech Republic), Farewell My Concubine (China/Hong Kong), Pelle the Conqueror (Denmark/Sweden) and Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico).

In addition to film, the Weinsteins have produced several award-winning shows on Broadway and around the world, including The Producers, Gypsy, La Bohème, Wonderful Town, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and last season's Frost/Nixon.

They also have invested in fashion. In March 2007, a group led by The Weinstein Company and Hilco Consumer Capital LLC acquired Halston. Best known for dressing the international jet set during the 1960s and 1970s, Halston has begun a rebuilding process, tapping Bonnie Takhar as President and Chief Executive Officer, Marco Zanini as Creative Director, stylist Rachel Zoe as Creative Advisor and Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon for the board of directors.

In 2001, Harvey and Bob Weinstein were made Chevaliers des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of Miramax Films' role in popularizing foreign films in the United States.

In 2004, Harvey Weinstein was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to the British film industry.

Mr. Weinstein is active in the philanthropic community on issues such as poverty, AIDS, juvenile diabetes, and multiple sclerosis research. He serves on the board of Robin Hood and recently co-chaired its annual benefit, which raised $72 million in one night. He has also chaired amfAR's annual benefit in Cannes, which has raised over $29 million for the American Foundation for AIDS research in the past 12 years.