Speakers

For more than a decade, Yehuda Shmidman has played a lead role in deploying more than $3 billion of institutional capital into acquiring, growing and monetizing global consumer brands including TOYS“R”US, MARTHA STEWART and PEANUTS.

He currently serves as Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of WHP Global, a leading New York based brand management firm backed by Oaktree Capital. 

WHP Global’s brand portfolio generates over $4 billion in annual retail sales, and includes JOE’S JEANS, ANNE KLEIN, JOSEPH ABBOUD, LOTTO, TOYS“R”US and BABIES“R”US.

WHP Global is also parent to WHP+, a turnkey e-commerce platform, and WHP SOLUTIONS, a sourcing agency based in Asia.

Yehuda has served on multiple public and private boards, both commercial and nonprofit, and angel invests from time to time. He currently serves as an active board member and executive committee member of the Fashion Scholarship Fund.

Fortune Magazine and Crain’s New York both included Yehuda in their prestigious “40 Under 40” lists, and multiple universities – including Columbia University, NYU Stern School of Business and Fordham Law School – have featured Yehuda as a guest lecturer to deliver insights into the future of consumer brands and the retail industry.