Page 7 - 2013-Alumni-Recognition-complete

This is a SEO version of 2013-Alumni-Recognition-complete. Click here to view full version

« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »

6

everyone an A if they just wrote the best they could was really unconventional, but empowered us to explore and do what we wanted rather than doing it to get a good grade. Management and business professor Martin Canavan’s passion for entrepreneurship was incredible.” Shep argues, “If you put together the lessons learned from these four faculty members—telling a great story, creating a win-win-win situation, doing it in an honest, passionate way, and embracing entrepreneurialism—you have a great foundation for life. It has led me to success, both personally and professionally.”

The Vineyard Vines catalog and Web site, both of which feature customer wedding photos and colorful personal profles, trumpet the playful customer storytelling Shep and Ian have used to build their brand. Equally important to the brothers, the company’s longtime commitment to community service and philanthropy is evidenced by its “Tied to a Cause” program, which provides custom ties, tote bags, and other items for their favorite charities and donates all proceeds from the sales of the items to those organizations. The program’s frst partnership was formed with Waterkeeper Alliance, the advocacy organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to protect water from polluters.

The extraordinary growth of Vineyard Vines has garnered the company a roster of honors from the business community. Named Ernst & Young’s 2005 Emerging Entrepreneur for the metro New York region, it was ranked 217th among the 500 fastest-growing companies in the country by Inc. magazine in 2006, when it was also the recipient of the Men’s Dress Furnishing Association Achievement Award. In 2007, Shep

and Ian were inducted into Quinnipiac University’s Business Leaders Hall of Fame, and Vineyard Vines was named Brand of the Year by trendy fashion company DNR. The duo was featured in Fortune magazine in 2008 and more recently in such publications as the New York Times, Newsweek, People, InStyle, and

Cosmopolitan . They have also appeared on TV’s CNBC, the Today Show, and The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch . Shep and Ian have been popular guest lecturers at Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, and Boston College, and Shep was particularly gratifed to deliver a lecture and speak with business classes at Skidmore in 2010.

Yet remarkable success hasn’t altered Shep’s original vision. “We went out there to start our own company and be masters of our own destiny—to live the American dream. That’s exactly what we’ve done, but we’ve picked up a lot of people along the way. That’s because of giving back and getting involved in communities.” He adds, “It has been very rewarding. I get to wake up every morning and drive my kids to school, create a product people love, and go to bed at night happy. I work with great people, we have great customers, and it’s awesome to be able to make people happy.”

He adds, “It is an honor to be recognized with this award. I’m greatly appreciative of the experience I had at Skidmore; it shaped the framework of my life, both personally and professionally.” Shep currently lives in Riverside, Conn., with his wife and three children. The family summers on Martha’s Vineyard and is in Florida as much as possible during the colder months.

D I S T I N G U I S H E D A C H I E V E M E N T A W A R D

“It is an honor to be recognized with this award. I’m greatly appreciative of the experience I had at Skidmore; it shaped the framework of my life, both personally and professionally.”

Page 7 - 2013-Alumni-Recognition-complete

This is a SEO version of 2013-Alumni-Recognition-complete. Click here to view full version

« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »