Karen Giberson
A genuine retail insider, Karen has years of experience in communications, merchandising, marketing and public relations. As President & CEO of the Accessories Council, a non-profit advocacy group, she represents a $100B+ industry with over 350 dynamic member companies in the fashion footwear, handbag accessory and jewelry industries. Beyond current members, Karen works with hundreds of brands, retailers, licensees, talent and industry support executives.
She is charged with being a voice for the industry and leads efforts to assist with legislative issues, sales and awareness. Her position gives her a unique perspective and as a business partner vs client, gets a realistic view of the opportunities and challenges these companies face. She is action oriented and works to maximize and resolve opportunities and challenges. At the Accessories Council, Karen creates and over sees production of educational events, mentoring programs, the industry newsletter, charitable efforts and fundraising galas. She advocates for policy, has testified in front of congress, local governments and retained lobby groups to positively impact the accessories industry. She is a prolific author and has been published in many trade papers.
Most notoriously, she runs the esteemed ACE Awards, one of the fashion industries leading events. She established many other foundation events at the Council including the Hall of Fame awards, The Elaine Gold Launchpad, Accessories Innovation Committee, The Design Excellence Awards, women’s networking events and Retail/Wholesale meet days to name a few. In January 2021, Karen lead the acquisition, rebrand and relaunch of Accessories Magazine, a quarterly publication, that features the accessories, jewelry, and footwear industry. Karen is a prolific author and major contributor to the publication.
Karen started her career in the executive training program at Macy’s and there held a number of positions, including a two year post in their jewelry-buying department. She then joined QVC where her career blossomed, culminating in a beloved position as director of event marketing. She was also director of accessories, footwear and intimate apparel, senior buyer of accessories, footwear and intimate apparel. She created and launched the companies Event Marketing division which created events as “Shoes on Sale”, “Extreme Shopping” and “Red Carpet Weekends”.