The Global Art Market, Luxury Goods and Female Representation on Boards and in Business School Cases with Helen Bulwik

Helen Bulwik is an experienced CEO, board director, strategic advisor and executive mentor. Helen has been the CEO of six middle-market private equity-owned companies. She has led business development and client strategy for the retail management consulting practices of IBM, Accenture and the Tom Peters Group, and she started her career as a merchandiser for Macy’s. Helen has also served on more than a dozen private and public boards, and she has been the only female on every one of them. Helen has a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Helen is also the founder of Pacific Art Group which has over 10,000 images, sold in over 122 countries. As a retail and eCommerce art guru, Helen talks about the art market, recent changes to retail and what company’s like Macy’s need to do be successful going forward. Helen also provides her advice for female executives looking to join corporate boards. Finally, we discuss why only 11% of business school cases involve female protagonists and what needs to take place in order to help change that.

Discussion Topics:

(2:55) Adjusting to COVID-10 lock downs from a business and personal standpoint.

(5:51) The global art market and growth in Chinese contemporary art.

(9:22) Trends in online art and the impact of COVID-19 on sales.

(15:25) Macy’s Inc. plan to reclaim luxury leadership.

(20:21) The future of retail post-COVID-19.

(23:04) Advice for female executives looking to join corporate boards.

(27:25) Female protagonists in business school cases.