We have assembled an illustrious panel of luxury's most accomplished achievers, from the most highly rated luxury brands and most respected entities around the world, to serve on your Advisory Board. The Advisory Board's members' role is to serve as independent and impartial advocates and provide feedback to the Luxury Board management team in order to continuously improve the member experience.

Jeffrey T. Beneville Senior Vice President, Business Development Leader / Camper & Nicholsons International In 1982, Mr. Beneville founded a family-owned insurance agency (Carle & Carle, Inc.) and built the firm into an internationally recognized marine insurance authority, charged by some of the world’s most recognized and discriminating mega-yacht owners with the responsibility of comprehensive insurance and risk management. In 2003, after 20 years of consecutive annual revenue growth, the firm’s assets were sold to MARSH, the world’s largest insurance broker. Jeffrey is also Co-owner of Julius Petersen, Inc., a Historic Hudson River Boatyard. He has competed professionally and extensively worldwide in every major Maxi World Yachting Championship event, as well as in the 1987 America’s Cup, the 1992 America’s Cup, and many other prestigious yachting competitions. As a Member of the New York Yacht Club since 1987 Jeffrey is so highly regarded by its prestigious membership that he was appointed to the Membership Committee in 2004.

Caroline Brown CEO / Akris, US Caroline Brown is Chief Executive Officer of Akris, US, a Swiss-based luxury apparel brand. In this role, Caroline oversees all areas of the company in the US including an extensive wholesale market, retail stores, marketing, infrastructure and all operational aspects of the business. Caroline joined Akris in December 2006 and is the first CEO for the brand in the US. The brand, which was founded in 1922, is known for its close attention to detail in production and quality making it one of the most luxurious products in the designer market today. Prior to her current role, Caroline spent over a decade at Giorgio Armani Corporation, most recently as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, US, overseeing this area for all divisions of the corporation in the United States. In this role, Caroline managed these divisions for all channels of the business including both the retail and wholesale groups.

Steven P. Dennis SVP, Strategy, Business Development & Multi-channel Marketing / Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. Steve joined the Neiman Marcus Group, one of the largest, most highly regarded and best managed luxury retailers in the world, in 2004, where he is responsible for corporate and business unit strategic planning, mergers & acquisitions and internal new business development efforts. He also leads the company’s enterprise customer strategy initiatives and has responsibility for the strategic alliance with HSBC to manage Neiman’s highly successful credit card operations. His illustrious career includes twelve years at Sears, Roebuck and Co. in a variety of general management, marketing and strategic development roles, most recently as Vice President, Corporate Strategy and leader of the Lands’ End acquisition integration team. Earlier, Steve held positions of increasing responsibility in new product marketing and business development at the NutraSweet Company and was a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Steve holds a B.A. in economics from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Robert C. Elliott Senior Managing Director / Bessemer Trust Mr. Elliott joined Bessemer Trust in 1975 and is Northeast, Central, West and International Region Head for client account management; overall advisory services; and marketing functions including advertising, public relations, and events. Prior to joining Bessemer Trust, Mr. Elliott was with the Trust Division of American Security and Trust Company in Washington, D.C..   Mr. Elliott received a B.A. degree in Political Science in 1968 and a J.D. degree in 1972 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and the American Bar Association. Mr. Elliott is Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee of The Foundation Center, New York City; Trustee of the American University of Paris; a member of the Board of Regents of Winthrop-University Hospital, Long Island; and was a founding advisory faculty member of the Institute for Private Investors, New York.

Barbara R. Hauser, MA, JD   Barbara Hauser is an internationally recognized leader in the private wealth industry. She is named on the 2008 Citywealth list of Top 100 international wealth advisors. She has been called a “leading light for families with cross-border holdings.” The closed door discussion group of family members and family office executives she has co-hosted for the last twelve years, Family Advisory Council, was a finalist for the Institutional Investor family group of the year for 2005. Her unique background combines legal expertise in the international private client field (author of a loose-leaf treatise on International Estate Planning) with a deep understanding of the critical family issues (author of numerous articles on family governance, the next generation, and related subjects.) A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, after which she clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court. Hauser was a law firm partner in Minnesota, Visiting Associate Professor at the U. of MN Law School, Special Counsel in the Private Client Department at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in New York, and part of the Citigroup Family Office group. She is now based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Bruce J. Himelstein Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing / The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, he served as Senior Vice President Sales for Marriott International. A 26-year veteran, Himelstein has held various positions in sales and marketing from National Sales to Pre-Opening Resorts. His career started as a Bellman and has escalated to Senior Vice President. He was the recipient of Marriott’s Director of Sales of the Year Award and has been responsible for developing division wide sales and marketing initiatives. Frequent guest speaker/lecturer on “Sales Basics”, “Sales Intensity and “Leadership”. Profiled in Lodging’s Who’s Who’, / Editorials in “Selling 2.0”, Josh Gordon, Hotel and Motel Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) which has 6000 members worldwide and was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality & Travel” for 2006.

Erica S. Kasel Vice President, Marketing / DEPARTURES Magazine / Centurion - The Magazine Recognized as an industry leader in the discipline of Luxury Marketing, Erica S. Kasel has led the marketing team for Departures magazine since 2003. Her responsibilities include overseeing all branding, promotions, merchandising, research initiatives, internet marketing, consumer direct marketing and events. Kasel was instrumental in the successful rollout of “The Magazine” for Centurion members, and works closely with the development of strategic marketing initiatives and communications with American Express.   Prior to joining Departures, Kasel was the President of Kasel Luxury Marketing Group Ltd., a marketing company that focused on luxury hospitality and travel, provided strategic marketing planning and execution services, internet strategy and implementation, and partnership programs. Her extensive luxury hospitality background includes senior positions at The Leading Hotels of the World, and Preferred Hotels Worldwide. She also serves as an adjunct professor at New York University Tisch Center for Hotel, Travel and Tourism Administration, and has guest lectured at Cornell University and IMHI/ESSEC in Paris. An MBA graduate from NYU Stern School of Business, and University of Massachusetts, Kasel has earned recognition from Travel Agent Magazine as one of the Top 200 Most Powerful Women in Travel and from Lodging Magazine as Who’s Who of Industry Leaders.

Guy Salter Private Investor, Deputy Chairman of Walpole, the British Luxury goods organization Guy Salter got his grounding in retailing and brand development at the Arcadia Group (www.arcadia.co.uk), where he worked in most of the Group's retail businesses, including Top Shop (www.topshop.co.uk), Top Man, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams & Harvey Nichols (www.harveynichols.com). From there he went to work for HRH The Prince of Wales as Assistant Private Secretary for Industry and Commerce (www.princeofwales.gov.uk). He was awarded an MVO by HM The Queen for this work. His entry into the luxury industry came with his appointment as managing director of Laurent-Perrier, the Champagne House (www.laurentperrier.fr/ and www.laurent-perrier.co.uk/). While at Laurent-Perrier he was also chairman of the Champagne Association and a member of the steering committee of the Comite Colbert, the French Luxury Goods association (www.comite-colbert.com). Subsequently he became managing director of the Asprey & Garrard Group (www.asprey.com), which owns two of the oldest British Luxury brands, including Garrard, the Crown Jeweler (www.garrard.com). At Asprey & Garrard he oversaw a significant restructuring and repositioning of the company. In April 2002 Guy and Rupert Hambro & Partners acquired Tanner Krolle (www.tannerkrolle.com). As minority investor and Chief Executive Guy oversaw the company's very rapid growth in revenues and margins. This period saw the establishment of Tanner Krolle's UK stores and quality wholesale accounts, as well as distribution in the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Russia. A majority stake in Tanner Krolle was sold to new investors in late 2005. Guy Salter is currently working with RHJ International (www.rhji.com), which is affiliated with Ripplewood Holdings LLC, the private equity firm. Guy is also Deputy Chairman of Walpole (www.thewalpole.co.uk), the British Luxury goods organization. He is also on the Council of The Prince's Trust (www.princes-trust.org.uk). In Asia, Guy has provided advice to the Thai Government on the development of their Fashion Project(www.thaitrade.com/).

Joan E. Siegel Director / Juno Enterprises Joan E. Siegel is a Director of Juno Enterprises, Inc. Her responsibilities include strategic planning for the family office, analyzing and implementing investment decisions and interacting with private banks, investment managers and money managers. She has been a member of the Institute for Private Investors since its inception in 1992. Ms. Siegel earned her bachelor’s degree in Romance Languages from Carnegie Mellon University, including one year studying Spanish literature and culture at the University of Madrid. She also participated in advanced studies in Spanish and Portuguese at Middlebury College. Ms. Siegel is fluent in multiple languages, including Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Ms. Siegel has an extensive background in public relations, including a position as Director of Marketing for Playbill Magazine in Philadelphia, where she wrote special features and managed account development. She also was Director of Public Relations for the Albert Nipon Corp., where she oversaw three divisions, and entertained and dressed Hollywood stars and other celebrities and members of the White House and the Cabinet, including Mrs. Reagan, for which Ms. Siegel had a White House security clearance. Ms. Siegel also has had significant involvement with the not-for-profit sector, from both a professional and a volunteer status. She served as Client Relations Manager for the Baldwin Family Office, LLC., where she was responsible for philanthropic planning and development, and also served as a member of the Chairman’s Council for the Philadelphia Museum of Art and is currently a member of the PENN Medicine Patient Facilitated Services Council and the PENN Medicine Campaign Cabinet.

Gianluca Malaguti Simoni Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Collector Gianluca Malaguti Simoni, born in Bologna, Italy in 1965, is the grandson of Armando Simoni the founder of OMAS, the legendary manufacturer of luxury writing instruments. After the untimely death of his father while still an eighteen-year-old university student, he joined the family’s company as an Area Manager. His innate aptitude for marketing was immediately evident and he soon became a Commercial Manager and subsequently Marketing Manager. Under his guidance sales continued to grow and in 1993 Gianluca Malaguti Simoni was appointed Managing Director of OMAS. In 2000 he was instrumental in orchestrating the sale of OMAS to LVMH, the luxury goods conglomerate. As a world-class collector, he owns one of the world’s largest vintage fountain pen collections. He is presently involved in an extremely diversified group of international business and charity activities including art, design, real estate, mining, world health and the environment. Gianluca currently serves as: Vice President Club Internazionale della Stilografica Armando Simoni Managing Director A.S. Distribution Managing Director A.S. Investments Cofounder La Fucina di Leonardo da Vinci Foundation Advisor Casino of Venice Spa Advisor Saluskey/Oxypharm