* Reception from 7:15 to 8:15 pm

The allure of luxury brands is so powerful that Asian consumers account for nearly 50% of the global luxury industry, and statistics show that China’s luxury market will be the world’s largest by 2014. The demand for luxury goods in Asia has also grown in tandem with an emerging middle class, which is poised to become a major driver of global economic growth. Why have luxury brands been so successful in Asia, and how are consumer markets different in each country in the region? How will luxury brands position themselves to capture the newly affluent? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by Maureen Chiquet, Global CEO of Chanel. The program will be moderated by Daisy Dowling, executive coach and head of Talent Development at the Blackstone Group.

Maureen Chiquet is the global chief executive officer of Chanel, overseeing and coordinating all of its activities worldwide. Chiquet joined Chanel in 2003 and in October of 2004 was named president of Chanel, Inc., in the United States. As president and chief operating officer, she directed all U.S. operations for fragrance and beauty, fashion, watches, and fine jewelry. Chiquet began her career at L’Oreal Paris in 1985 as a product manager. In 1988 she joined Gap, and in 1994 she moved to Old Navy as a divisional merchandise manager. In the following eight years, she advanced to executive vice president of merchandising, planning, and production, growing the brand from 35 to 850 stores. In 2002 she was named president of Banana Republic, where she was responsible for overseeing the entire organization, including all stores and operations in the United States and Canada. She sits on the supervisory board and human resources committee of Vivendi, the board of directors of children’s clothing company Peek… Aren’t You Curious, and the board of trustees of the New York Academy of Art. At Yale she is a member of the President’s Council on International Activities and serves on the University Council Committee on Reputation. Chiquet was named Trustee to the Yale Corporation in 2012.

Daisy Wademan Dowling is the head of Talent Development at the Blackstone Group. Her prior corporate experience includes senior roles at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs. Dowling is the author of Remember Who You Are (HBS Press, 2004), and has published several articles on leadership and corporate culture in the Harvard Business Review, including interviewing Maureen Chiquet as part of her regular column "The Best Advice I Ever Got." Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, and Elle magazine. She received her B.A. in History from Brown University in 1996 and her M.B.A. from Harvard in 2002.