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Senior
Management Profiles Advisory
Board Profiles
Mona
So
Chairperson of the Board
Mona
So is among the most recognized Asian-American women in the United States.
She is one of the country's most successful fashion jewelry designers
who has won numerous awards and recognitions for her role in defining
fashion. Former President George Bush has called her a leading woman in
the American fashion jewelry industry. J.C. Penney Chairman W.R. Howell
called Mrs. So "the First Lady of Semi-Precious Stones" upon presenting
her with the retailer's prestigious Minority Supplier of the Year Award.
She has designed jewelry for several Presidential First Ladies, including
Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Mrs. So has been featured
on the front covers of several business magazines, and quoted by the New
York Times in feature stories. She has been profiled in a Chinese government
biography on leading Chinese entrepreneurs of the world, and was the subject
of a Chinese film documentary recalling her inimitable life story and
rise to success. The New York Chamber of Commerce has presented her with
an Award for Excellence in Business and Commitment to New York City. She
has been the grand award winner and the first Asian woman to be honored
with awards by the U.S. Minority Nationality Development Bureau and the
Allied Organization of Major American Retail Traders. Mrs. So established
the National Chinese-American Jewelry Association and currently serves
as the honorary Chairperson of the Chinese Import and Export Association
of America. She has served as Co-Chairperson of the Asian American Republican
National Federation, and has established firm friendships with former
President Gerald Ford, New York mayors Rudolph Giuliani and David Dinkins,
and many other dignitaries. She particularly has maintained a strong relationship
with the top government and business leadership of China and Taiwan.
Raymond P. So
CEO and President
The founder of Maximum Style, Inc., Raymond So, is the company's chief
executive officer and president. Most recently, Mr. So was the Director
of the national retail division of progressive clothing chain Don't Panic
Designs, after serving as manager of two of the company's U.S. stores.
Before that, he headed several enterprises in the popular culture entertainment
industry. He founded and acted as program director and an on-air personality
of Renegade Radio 96.7 FM, a nightly dance format program which broadcast
in the Los Angeles and Orange County radio markets. Prior to Renegade
Radio, Mr. So was a managing director of Communion Productions, a concert
and event production company specializing in dance culture. He also served
for two years as the award-winning general manager of the University of
Southern California's KSCR 104.7 FM/530 AM. He has been a featured speaker
at several music and broadcast industry conferences. Mr. So has held editorial
and columnist roles at several independent music publications. He received
his undergraduate education as an honors program Political Science major
and Sociology minor at the University of Southern California. Mr. So sits
on the corporate board of Internet Investment Engine, LLC, an Internet
venture capital investment firm.
Stace A. Baal
CTO (interim)
Stace Baal currently oversees all technical, engineering, and website
design functions for Maximum Style. He most recently was vice president
and operations manager of Insyght Interactive, Inc., a multimedia and
design studio. Mr. Baal was manager of the multimedia division of the
University of Southern California's Instructional Imaging Center, where
he was part of the university's original web infrastructure team. He has
also been chief engineer of the University of Southern California's KSCR
104.7 FM/530 AM, and general manager of Michigan Technological University's
WMTU 99.1 FM. Mr. Baal was an undergraduate communications major at the
University of Southern California.
Advisory Board
Ron Antonette
Ron Antonette is a vice president of consumer marketing
for Golin/Harris International, where he develops and implements marketing,
media relations, and special events for clients including the Walt Disney
Company, Forrester Research, Swatch, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water,
and Baskin-Robbins. He managed the media efforts for the launch of the
Go Network (Go.com), and the launch of Amazon.com's toys, consumer electronics,
and home improvement stores. He introduced the Earthworm Jim video game
character for Playmates Interactive Entertainment, and initiated an award-winning
media campaign for retailer Wherehouse Entertainment. In addition, Mr.
Antonette managed the Southern California launch of the Peet's Coffee
& Tea chain. He has also managed media relations for the Pasadena Tournament
of Roses and Rose Bowl. He currently oversees corporate communications
issues for Playmates Toys. Mr. Antonette holds a Bachelor's in Journalism/Public
Relations from the University of Southern California. He is a member of
the Public Relations Society of America and Public Communicators of Los
Angeles.
James C. Ayer
James Ayer is a partner at Tiedemann Investment Group,
where he established the Tiedemann/Ayer Asian Growth Fund. Mr. Ayer was
previously responsible for the Asian component of Oppenheimer Management
Corporation's global equity funds with assets aggregating over $3 billion.
In 1993, Oppenheimer Global Securities was the number one performing global
fund tracked by Lipper. From 1988 to 1992, he was responsible for market
and stock analysis in the Pacific Rim for Brown Brothers Harriman. Mr.
Ayer has a Masters in Management Studies from Oxford University and a
B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Yale University. He is a
member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and is a Chartered
Financial Analyst.
Nelson Lee
Nelson Lee has eight years of investment experience in both the hedge
fund and pension fund disciplines. He is currently a member of Lee Capital
Venture, LLC, where he makes all non-property related investment decisions.
Mr. Lee also serves as Executive Director and interim CFO of High Tech
Style, Inc., a web-based eCRM technologies company. He formerly managed
the Hong Kong Fund for GTF Asset Management, and prior to that, he was
responsible for the Hong Kong and China equity portion of TIAA-CREF's
Stock Fund. Mr. Lee was an Actuary for seven years at Home Life Financial
Assurance Corporation. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Rutgers University.
Frederick Levy
Frederick Levy is the Vice President of Development and
Production at Marty Katz Productions, which has first-look deals with
Miramax and Dimension Films. The company's recent films include Titanic,
Reindeer Games, Mr. Wrong, and Man of the House. Mr. Levy is the author
of the acclaimed Los Angeles Times best-selling book Hollywood 101: The
Film Industry. Before Marty Katz Productions, Mr. Levy worked for American
Entertainment Investors and InterMedia/Film Equities, Inc., both of which
financed and packaged independent films. Mr. Levy has produced several
syndicated radio programs, and he is frequently a guest on various major
market network television and radio interviews. He currently teaches film
classes at Emerson College and UCLA's Extension Program. Mr. Levy holds
a B.S. in Business/Marketing from the University of Southern California.
R. Barry Spaulding
R. Barry Spaulding is a principal of Global Strategies,
which consults government and private sector entities on investment strategy,
corporate finance, and export finance. He had served for seven years as
Deputy Commissioner of International Commerce for the New York State Department
of Economic Development, where he implemented the Global New York Attraction
Program, the Global New York Export Assistance Services Program, and the
High Technology Global New York Program. Mr. Spaulding was previously
Senior Vice President of Orange Nassau Asia, Ltd., a trade advisory and
venture capital firm. He also has over eleven years of experience in international
banking, having served as Vice President of the China Division, New York
for Chase Manhattan Bank, Assistant Vice-President of First National Bank
of Chicago, and Assistant Treasurer of Irving Trust Company's International
Correspondent Banking Division-Asia. Mr. Spaulding has a Masters of International
Affairs in International Finance/Economic Development from Columbia University,
and a B.A. in Asian Studies/Political Science, Summa cum laude from University
of California, Santa Barbara.
Fred S. Teng
Fred Teng is president and CEO of Noble Communications
Group, an internet application service provider specializing in streaming
audio/video programming for multi-cultural markets. Previously, he headed
AT&T's marketing communications programs for the Asian and Diversified
markets, after serving as AT&T's National Public Relations Director for
the U.S. Asian markets. Before AT&T, Mr. Teng provided financial advisement
to institutions and high net worth private investors at Merrill Lynch
and Oppenheimer & Company. He has also served as president of the Chinese
American Planning Council and the Asian Financial Society. He was the
recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the New York State Governor's
Community Leadership Award. Mr. Teng received a Bachelor's in Business
Administration from Baruch College of City University of New York, and
completed an executive program at the Northwestern University's Kellogg
School of Business.
Kerry R. Hendrix
Kerry Hendrix was formerly COO of Maximum Style, overseeing the Company's sales, human resources, and product management operations before leaving for personal reasons. His role includes supervision of buying, vendor relationships, and product development. Before Maximum Style, Mr. Hendrix was the purchasing manager of the retail division of Don't Panic Designs, a progressive clothing manufacturer and retailer. Prior to that, he was associate producer of Purple Rose/Saratoga Productions, representing actress Alison Eastwood. Mr. Hendrix's main background is in human resources. He has served as human resource manager of NextCard (Internet Access Financial Corporation), a major on-line credit card issuer, was a human resource specialist at E*Trade Group, a leading on-line stock broker, and managed the college recruiting program in the human resource division of the Providian Financial banking group. Mr. Hendrix has an Associate of Arts degree from City College of San Francisco and received technical training in avionics in the U.S. Air Force.
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