Management
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Edward R. Rosenfeld has served as our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since August 2008 and has been a director of our Company since February 2008. Mr. Rosenfeld, who joined our executive management team in May 2005, has more than two decades of experience focused on the retail, apparel and footwear industries and possesses particular knowledge of and experience in the industry that strengthens the Board’s collective qualifications, skills and experience. His background in finance and his analytical skills gained through his years as a Vice President with Peter J. Solomon Company, an investment banking boutique, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions in the retail, apparel and footwear industries, provide the Board with insight and guidance with respect to, among other things, strategic business development matters. Mr. Rosenfeld has strong leadership skills and an in-depth understanding of our Company and its goals from his positions as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rosenfeld serves as a director and member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee of PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH), one of the world’s largest apparel companies.
President
Amelia Newton Varela has been President of our Company since September 2015 and has served as a director since 2016. Prior to this tenure, Ms. Varela was Executive Vice President of Wholesale of our Company since April 2008 and Executive Vice President of Wholesale Footwear of our Company from November 2004 to April 2008. Previously, she was Vice President of Sales for Steve Madden Women’s Wholesale Division from January 2000. Ms. Varela began her career with our Company in 1998 in the role of Account Executive for Steve Madden Women’s Wholesale Division. She graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology in 1995.
Chief Financial Officer
Zine Mazouzi has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 1, 2021, and previously served as our Chief Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President—Finance and Operations from January 2019 until his appointment as our Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining our Company, he held various senior positions at Sears Holdings as the Chief Financial Officer of Sears Footwear Group from 2016 to 2017, Head of the Footwear Group from 2017 to 2018 and Head of the Footwear, Home and Jewelry Groups in 2018. Prior to that, he worked at Nine West Group from 1998 to 2015, where he held a number of increasingly senior positions, including Chief Financial Officer from 2014 to 2015. Mr. Mazouzi received his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and a Master of Business Administration from Iona College.
Chief Merchandising Officer
Karla Frieders has been the Chief Merchandising Officer of the Company since September 2015. Previously, Ms. Frieders served as the President of Retail from January 2013 and the Vice President of Retail from October 2009 until January 2013. Prior to these roles, Ms. Frieders held various buying positions at the Company from 1999.
General Counsel & Secretary
Lisa Keith was appointed as the Company’s General Counsel in November 2019. Ms. Keith joined Steve Madden’s Legal Department in May 2017 and previously served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Keith was a senior associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, where she represented clients in the fashion, technology and luxury goods industries. Ms. Keith began her legal career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where she practiced in the litigation department. She earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.