Name Joel Horowitz | ||
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Joel J. Horowitz (born November 1950) is an entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of the creation and development of both Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and Global Brands Acquisition Corp.
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Early career
Horowitz began his career in the apparel industry with Polo/Ralph Lauren Corporation. During his time there he held a variety of different roles before moving on to Marjani International Ltd., where he soon became President of the designer division. That encompassed the early development of the Tommy Hilfiger business. It was in March 1989 that he joined with Tommy Hilfiger to form Tommy Hilfiger, Inc.
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
Horowitz was CEO of Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A. Inc. Between 1989 and 1994 he was President and COO of Tommy Hilfiger B.V. and its predecessors. From 2003 to 2005 he held the role of Non-Executive Chairman of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and its Director between 1992 and 2005. That year he retired but the following year he joined with a management group and Apax Partners Inc., and took the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation private. He remains a Director of that company today.
Other executive roles
In 1982 Horowitz was appointed Senior VP of Murjani International and its predecessors. From 1986 he was President, a position he held for three years.
In 1994 Horowitz set up PVH B.V., where he was CEO (until 2003) and President (from 1995 to 2003). During this time he guided the firm’s branding, while ensuring its expansion.
Since 2007, Horowitz has been CEO and Treasurer at Global Brands Acquisition Corporation, as well as Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, and Director. In addition, he is CEO, Director and Treasurer of JLJ Partners LLC. Between 1994 and 2004 he was a member of the JP Morgan Chase Regional Advisory Board.
The most recent record for his annual compensation was in 2005, documented at $1,473,494.
Philanthropy
Horowitz supports a variety of charitable endeavors. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Cabinet of the Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. In 1997 he launched the Friends of Families Foundation with Children in Crisis (originally named Friends of CEDU Foundation). Today he is a Trustee there. The organization was set up due to his personal attachment to the issue of teenagers becoming out of control as that was what happened to his daughter. He later discovered she had been molested as a child. Today she has a Masters Degree and is married with three children.
Personal life
Horowitz is married to Ann. In 2012 Ann and Joel bought a 2-bedroom apartment on the 22nd floor of 1, Fifth Avenue. They paid $3.5m. In 2013, he finally sold his 210 acre Lake Tahoe manor – known as “Tranquility” – for $48m, which, according to The Wall Street Journal was “the highest sum ever paid for a home” in that area. Even at that price it was $27m less than the asking price. It featured an indoor swimming pool, a private lake, a cigar lounge, seven other buildings and a staircase model on the Titanic’s.