WSJ: How do you keep tabs on the positioning of your brands?
Mr. Polet: We get real data -- market surveys from the Luxury Institute in the U.S., for example -- and continue to monitor the health of all of our brands.
Date: Tuesday April 22, 2008 (full day program) + One-on-One Strategy Session Location:Princeton Club of New York, 15 West 43rd, New York, NY 10036
Fee: $1,795 per student. Class size limited to 50 students
Faculty/Speakers
Milton Pedraza
CEO
The Luxury Institute, LLC
Milton F. Pedraza is the CEO of the Luxury Institute, LLC. Through the use of proprietary surveying techniques with high net-worth consumers, Mr. Pedraza has established the New York-based Luxury Institute as the trusted and impartial luxury brand ratings, reviews and research institution that is the voice of high net-worth consumers.
Today, luxury goods and services firms, luxury professionals, high net-worth consumers, and the international press, all rely on the Institute for its impartial ratings and best practices insights on to how to better serve high net-worth clients globally. Prior to founding the Luxury Institute, Milton served in Finance, Marketing, Sales and Senior Management positions at Fortune 100 companies Altria, Pepsico, Colgate, Citigroup and Wyndham Worldwide. He is an author and speaker at the world's foremost Financial Services, Travel and Leisure, Real Estate and Luxury Conferences. Milton has conducted business in over seventy-five countries and speaks several languages.
Bruce J. Himelstein
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC
Bruce J. Himelstein is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. a position he has held since 2002. Formerly a Senior Vice president of Sales with Marriott International, Himelstein has spent more than 25 years in the hotel industry. In 2006 he was recognized for his many professional achievements when the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association (HSMAI) named him one of the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing.”
At The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Himelstein has launched several highly successful sales and marketing programs to reposition the brand and its corporate message to reach the next generation of luxury customers. These include the first comprehensive advertising campaign and the creation of strategic partnerships with companies including Mercedes-Benz, Saks Fifth Avenue and American Express. The repositioning of the brand was featured in the Wall Street Journal.
