Mr. Clarke received degrees in finance and marketing and has worked in retail for over 20 years, holding positions like Vice President of merchandising. He has consulted with companies in Asia on retail strategies and taught courses on topics like merchandising and financial planning. Mr. Clarke is also credited with starting the NFL's "If Win" program and recognizing the future potential of brands like Nike and Adidas early in his career.

1. Mr. Clarke received his Bachelor of Science from Northern Arizona University in Finance and his MBA in Marketing from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona. <br />Mr. Clarke has been a guest speaker and teacher at Purdue University, San Francisco State University, California State Fullerton University and he has been the guest speaker at The Arnold Palmer worldwide sales conference, Levi’s Strauss national sales conference, Manhattan Industries national sales conference and the Central Department Stores Thailand, Supersports national conference. <br />After spending over 20 years in the US retail industry, including Vice President of merchandising, private label and brand development, design and sourcing, counting Federated Department Stores, Carter Hawley Hale, May Department Stores and Eddie Bauer. Mr. Clarke was awarded Retail Manager of the Year by both Levi Strauss and Manhattan Industries. <br />Mr. Clarke is credited with having started the National Football League’s “If Win” program during the 1988 Superbowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals. By working with Lazarus Dept. Stores in Cincinnati and NFL licensed vendors and photographers, upon completion of the game, develop logo merchandise with the final score be produced to deliver on Monday to the winning team’s city, Emporium Capwell in SF, (Mr. Clarke was VP Merchandising) for promotion during and after the Market Street parade. A $1 Million sales goal was reached during the week, which led to this program becoming a normal sequence of retail for all major national sports championships. <br />In Mr. Clarke’s first buying responsibility while at May Department Stores Los Angeles, he had the foresight to recognize the future of the athletic footwear industry and was the first retail department store to add Adidas and Nike footwear to the assortments. <br />Mr. Clarke’s achievements in recognizing consumer direction and trends in advance have given him the quality of retail long-term strategy and growth potential analysis skills that lead to strong retail and brand wholesale results.<br />This retail experience led to Mr. Clarke’s leadership of Northfield Sport, a partnership with the owner (Mike McCaskey) and head coach (Mike Ditka) of the Chicago Bears and the development of apparel and accessories programs to grow the revenues and profits of the Chicago Bears. <br />Mr. Clarke has consulted in Asia with special interest in retail and brand development:<br />His training focuses on developed assortment plans based on item, category, department and vendor, while training in negotiation tactics for vendor qualification and growth programs. He developed marketing strategies, store remodels, floor plans, based on sales contributions potential and long-term strategies in addition to helping create private label programs. Mr. Clarke has taught retail math, merchandising and financial planning to buyers and merchandise managers, both retail and wholesale.<br />He has directed implementation of these strategies successfully with Central Department Stores Supersports Division of Thailand, Quest Sporting Goods in China (the largest sporting goods retailer in China) and #1 Department Stores in Mainland China. <br />Additional successes in Asian helping US companies source products which include Emporio Armani, Nike and Adidas, Neiman Marcus, Federated Department Stores, Vanity Fair, Eileen West, Western Pacific Airlines, The Disney Company, Donna Karan, Duty Free, Dillard’s Dept. Stores, May Company, Steinmart Dept. Stores, Krause’s Furniture Stores, Patina V Furniture and Nordstrom’s Dept. Stores. <br />Recently, Mr. Clarke participated, presented and published: China Silk Wines: A Case Study, paper presented at the International Academy of Business and Economics Conference, Bangkok, June 4-6, 2010. <br />China Silk Wines: A Case Study, Review of Business Research, Volume 10, Number 1, 2010, 110-116 (co-authored with P. Chan, D. Pollard and B. Lee).<br />As a consultant Mr. Clarke helped, international companies open up Asia, with emphasis on China, Thailand and the Philippines. He has worked with local and foreign companies to bring together, including joint ventures and foreign corporate set up. Mr. Clarke worked with the United States Embassy and staff, China law firms, investors, mall developers and the Shanghai government. <br />