Leadership

Chaim Edelstein
Chairman
Mr. Edelstein's distinguished career in retail began in 1972. He spent five years as a buyer and merchandiser for Hecht & Co. In 1978 he joined Abraham and Straus, a division of Federated Department Stores. He served as its Chairman and CEO, from 1984 to 1994. In 1996 Mr. Edelstein became Chairman and CEO of Hills Stores, where he successfully negotiated the sale of the chain to Ames in 1999. Edelstein holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Max Ma
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Ma has over a decade of management experience at companies including HBO and Pantone, where he was the lead developer for Pantone's Electronic Color Systems. He has successfully driven numerous large-scale IT projects, and has also overseen the development of apparel design automation CAD systems. He is a founder of the Chinese Association for Science and Business, a non-profit organization that works to align Chinese and American business and government interests. Mr. Ma is also the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Yale-China Association, a nonprofit organization with more than a century of experience contributing to the development of education in and about China and to the furtherance of understanding and knowledge between Chinese and American people. Mr. Ma holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University.

Louise Chazen
President
Ms. Chazen brings to 7thonline over 20 years of merchandising experience at the country's top retailers. Prior to 7thonline, she spent five years as Vice President of Merchandising at Victoria's Secret, a division of The Limited Inc., where she was instrumental in coordinating the overall branding for the company's three distribution channels (catalog, retail, and internet) and directed the ready-to-wear business for all Victoria's Secret catalogs. Prior to Victoria's Secret, Ms. Chazen spent 13 years at Saks Fifth Avenue, eight of which were spent as Vice President, Divisional Merchandising Manager for several divisions, including Sportswear, Coats and Dresses. She began her prestigious retail career as a buyer at Macy's after receiving a BS degree from The State University of New York at Albany.

Dan Yin
Senior Vice President, Product & Services
Ms. Yin has over ten years of experience in Information Technology. Prior to 7thonline, she served as a senior consultant for Oracle, driving the development of transaction-heavy e-commerce solutions for industrial clients. Previously, Ms. Yin led the development and maintenance of security lending applications for a major banking institution. Ms. Yin holds both BS and MS degrees in Computer Science.

Ben Lentini
Vice President Planning Solutions
Mr. Lentini has over 25 years merchandising and planning experience in both the retail and wholesale sectors. Prior to 7thonline, he was Vice President of Merchandising for Designs, Inc which operated the Original Levi’s and Levi’s Outlet stores. He also was Chief Operating Officer for Belly Basics, a manufacturer of high end maternity apparel and accessories sold to retailers like Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. Mr. Lentini also spent time in management consulting working for Arthur Anderson as the lead Project Management consultant for their Retail Merchandising practice. He also was an experienced Implementation Project Manager for Blue Cherry, where he implemented and maintained the ERP system for clients such as Tommy Bahama and Triple Five Soul. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in Management and Marketing from Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.

Dr. Saman Hong
Vice President of Analytics and Optimization Solutions
Dr. Hong has 30+ years of experience in retail technology and operations analysis. Prior to joining 7thonline, Dr. Hong founded and managed Varentas, a consulting and technology development firm to the retail industry. At Varentas, Dr. Hong provided custom development of analytical methods and systems for applications in planning, forecasting, and inventory management for top-tier retailers. Prior to Varentas, Dr. Hong managed consulting services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and served as a Principal at Investcorp, a major private equity firm with investments in the retail and consumer products industries. Dr. Hong has also served on the faculty at New York University, Rutgers University and City University of New York. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Johns Hopkins University.

Chaim Edelstein
Chairman
Mr. Edelstein has served as Chairman of 7thonline since December 1999. His distinguished career in retail began in 1972. Mr. Edelstein spent five years as a buyer and merchandiser for Hecht & Co. In 1978 he joined Abraham and Straus, a division of Federated Department Stores. He served as its Chairman and CEO, from 1984 to 1994. In 1996 Mr. Edelstein became Chairman and CEO of Hills Stores, where he successfully negotiated the sale of the chain to Ames in 1999. Mr. Edelstein holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Max Ma
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Ma has over a decade of management experience at companies including HBO and Pantone, where he was the lead developer for Pantone's Electronic Color Systems. He has successfully driven numerous large-scale IT projects, and has also overseen the development of apparel design automation CAD systems. He is a founder of the Chinese Association for Science and Business, a non-profit organization that works to align Chinese and American business and government interests. Mr. Ma is also the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Yale-China Association, a nonprofit organization with more than a century of experience contributing to the development of education in and about China and to the furtherance of understanding and knowledge between Chinese and American people. Mr. Ma holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University.

John W. Burden, III
Former Chairman of Federated Department Stores
Mr. Burden served as the Chairman of Federated Department Stores, Inc. and Allied Department Stores, Inc. from 1988 to 1990. Prior to his position as Chairman, Mr. Burden was the Vice-Chairman of Federated Department Stores for four years. From 1981 to 1985, Mr. Burden was the Chairman of Federated's Abraham & Straus (A&S) division and from 1977 to 1981, he was President of Federated's Burdines Department Store division in Florida.

Jerome Chazen
Former Chairman & Co-Founder of Liz Claiborne
Mr. Chazen is currently the Founder and Chairman of Chazen Capital. Prior to this Mr. Chazen was one of the four founders of Liz Claiborne Inc., where he is also Chairman Emeritus. During his tenure he was largely responsible for the innovative sales, marketing, distribution, and licensing programs that are an integral part of Liz Claiborne Inc.'s success. Mr. Chazen is also the founder and Benefactor of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business. Mr. Chazen received his B.A. Degree from the University of Wisconsin and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Steven Richard Walton
Executive Director of Wing Tai
Mr. Walton serves as the Executive Director of Wing Tai. He has overall responsibility for Hong Kong and Far East operations. Mr. Walton has spent twenty-three years managing major companies in all areas of the apparel industry. Prior to moving to Asia in the late 1980s, Mr. Walton spent ten years in senior management positions with Marks and Spencer, during which time he was based both in Europe and the United States. In 1986 he created a state of the art design, marketing and sourcing company for a publicly listed UK group, supplying the major UK retailers. Mr.Walton joined the Wing Tai organization in the early 1990s and has run a number of its businesses based in Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Mr. Walton is a member of the Institute of Directors, and Chairs various steering Committees at the City University of Hong Kong.

Larry Leeds
Chairman of Buckingham Capital
Laurence C. Leeds, Jr. is the Chairman of Buckingham Capital Management, a New York equity management firm. He is also Executive Vice President and Managing Director of The Buckingham Research Group - Buckingham Capital's parent firm. Prior to Buckingham, Mr. Leeds was the Chairman and CEO of Manhattan Industries (Manhattan Shirt Company). Manhattan Industries was acquired by the Salant Corporation in a hostile takeover in 1988. Mr. Leeds received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Richard Marcus
Former CEO of Neiman Marcus
Mr. Marcus has over 50 years experience in the marketing and retailing field, 27 of which were spent at Neiman Marcus where he served as CEO from 1979 to 1988. Currently, Mr. Marcus is Senior Advisor to Peter J. Solomon Company, and serves as a director of First Insight and Qbel Foods. He has previously served on the boards of three public companies: Zale Corporation, Michaels Stores, and Lands End. Mr. Marcus is a graduate of Harvard College and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Howard Socol
Former CEO of Barneys New York
Mr. Socol served as CEO of Barneys from 2001 to 2008. Prior to this, Mr. Socol also held positions as CEO of J. Crew and CEO of Burdines, a division of Federated Department Stores. During his 13-year tenure at the helm of Burdines, he expanded it from 17 stores to 45, and increased sales from $475 million, to $1.4 billion.

Peter Solomon
Founder of Peter J. Solomon Company
Peter J. Solomon founded Peter J. Solomon Company in February 1989. PJSC is a boutique investment bank providing strategic merger and acquisition, corporate finance and restructuring advisory services to clients in a wide range of industries. In 1978 Mr. Solomon became Deputy Mayor of Economic Policy and Development in New York City under Mayor Edward I. Koch and in 1980, President Carter appointed Mr. Solomon Counselor to the United States Treasury. Following that Mr. Solomon became Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers and Co-Chairman of the Investment Banking Department. Mr. Solomon received his B.A. degree cum laude from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.