Fashion Group International has appointed Maryanne Grisz as its new president and chief executive officer. This news comes six months after the death of the company’s longtime leader Margaret Hayes.
“I am honored to be working with Chairman James D’Adamo, a collaborative Board of Directors, all leaders in their industries and our amazing New York office team to start this journey and transition to a new era,” Grisz said in a letter to FGI members. “Be assured, I am listening to your input in service to the organization and hope to meet each of you as we grow.”
Directly prior to taking on this new role, Grisz had served as FGI’s managing director of events and operations since January 2019. As an insider, she has worked closely with chairman James D’Adamo. Grisz joined FGI as director of special events and social media strategies in 2012 and shouldered the additional responsibility of handling brand development in 2015.
Grisz also previously worked as an attorney and as a film producer of global events. Having become a member 20 years ago while living in Philadelphia, she became a regional director in the late Nineties before taking on the voluntary role of district director for the East Coast, overseeing Boston; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C., and three regions in Ohio. In 2003, she relocated to New York and later pitched in at FGI as a member volunteer by co-chairing “Career Day” and serving on the “Frontliners” committee. At Hayes’ request, she agreed to act as a consultant for the group’s social media. When the position of FGI’s director of special events became available in 2013, Grisz, a proven executive in that field, took on that responsibility.
As the new president and CEO, she enters with three key initiatives. The first will involve surveying FGI’s members (since the career landscape has changed over the years) and updating digital programming and services, Grisz said. Connecting more closely with FGI’s regions and directors will be another priority for Grisz, who plans to get on the road and spend more time with them. To strengthen partnerships in New York, Grisz intends to use technology and processes to help attract members and provide new resources, she said.
Grisz has a clear sense of what she has signed up for, since she and Hayes worked together in New York for seven years.
“It’s my honor to follow in the footsteps of the accomplished Margaret Hayes. I met her 20 years ago and I thought, ‘What a great lady,’ ” Grisz said. “I am excited to embrace the new technology ahead … and building on what Margaret has created in the last 20 to 25 years. It’s great. I’ve always loved Fashion Group. It’s part of my life and has been for 20 years. It’s nuts — it doesn’t feel like work to me.”
To learn more, click here.
