Greg Furman

"President of Furman Communications & Marketing and Founder/Chairman of The Luxury Marketing Council, Greg Furman has held a number of senior level positions in different industry groups. He served as policy advisor and speech writer to the Ontario Minister of Education; head of public affairs and issues management for Sun Oil's Canadian Subsidiary, Suncor; Managing Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion for the New York Stock Exchange, and head of J. Walter Thompson's corporate image public relations business. During his three-year association with Bergdorf Goodman his responsibilities included marketing strategy, advertising, public relations, interactive initiatives, direct mail and the store's $20 million catalogue business. In November 1994 Greg started his own consulting business and founded The Luxury Marketing Council.

"His clients have included SmithKline Beecham, Bay Banks, Andersen Consulting, Business Publications Audit International (BPA), MBIA, The International Trademark Association, Deloitte & Touche, Pennwell Publishing - Oil & Gas Journal, Signet Bank, American Express, InterPost (a subsidiary of Dutch KLM and The Dutch Post Office), American Business Press, Sotheby's International Realty, CCH Legal Information Services, Miller Freeman - The Couture Conference and Collection, Departures Magazine, Via Way Travel, New York City Opera, Palmeto Travel, historic Charleston, Godiva, Nymphenburg Porcelain, Meigher Communications, Capital Publishing, Atlantic Mutual. ADP (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.), GQ, Street & Smith's, Harper's Bazaar, Magazine Publishers of America, Orient Express, Leo Burnett, Zicccardi & Partners, Kirschenbaum & Bond, Bill Communications/VNU, Fortune, Publicis, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, FlightTime and Steinway and Sons.

"In November of 1994 Greg founded The Luxury Marketing Council, now a group of some 1,600 CEO's and top marketing executives of 675 luxury firms in New York, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, Dubai. London, Paris and Atlanta. Included among them are U.S. Trust, Steuben, The Golden Door Spa, Seabourn Cruise Line, Mercedes Benz, Swiss Air, Sothebys, Sotheby’s International Realty, Brioni, The Fragrance Foundation, Bally, American Express, Cartier, Dunhill, Montblanc, Atlantic Mutual, JP Morgan, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Bentley Rolls Royce and Mumm/Perrier Jouet, Bruno Magli, Baccarat, Gourmet, Architectural Digest, Forbes, Wall Street Journal Weekend Journal, Deloitte & Touche, Departures, Cigar Aficionado, Frette, David Yurman, FAO Schwarz, scada.

"His strategy consulting practice focuses on helping his clients define their missions and corporate positioning, develop strategic plans and grow their businesses by taking a more creative, "out of the box" approach to all facets of the marketing mix: public relations, advertising, direct mail, special events, and, especially, innovative partnerships and collaborations. Highlights of his educational experience include studying with Marshall McLuhan (1970 - 1977) at the University of Toronto, "Strategic Marketing" at Harvard, and "Managing Critical Resources" at University of Virginia's Colgate Darden School of Business."