Steven Fischer CSI CDT

EC Research is the practice established for applying the principles from my teaching at University of Chicago Booth School of Management, Kellogg School of Management and Northwestern University. It also publishes a private newsletter, Luxury Viewpoints, which reaches over 1,300 luxury industry executives. Organizations engaged with include: Abbott Laboratories Bang & Olufsen Bottega Veneta Brunswick Corporation Cadillac Cisco Systems Deutsche Bank Dove Campaign for Real Beauty/Ogilvy Edrington (Scottish Whisky holding company) Elkay Ford Motor Company Gucci Harley Davidson Motor Company Herman Miller Honda Motor Company Illinois Tool Works Interra USA/JK Holdings KonMari Media Inc. (Marie Kondo, Japanese author and organizing expert's firm) Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicagoland SAB Miller-Coors The Principality of Monaco Motorola Newell – Rubbermaid Pantone Philips Rotary International Starwood Properties TJX Companies United Airlines Valspar Visa International Webb Scarlett deVlam Whirlpool

Fischer Voyage is a luxury leather goods business, producing finely hand-crafted 100% American pieces (made and sourced entirely in the United States). The pieces are regarded as among the finest on the market today. September 2013 it enjoyed its global retail launch at Harrods, London, and is now featured in the Savile Row tailor Byrne & Burge. March 2015 the BBC World News featured Fischer Voyage http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32026737 . Finalist for 2015 Martha Stewart American Made award.

I introduced and taught Luxury

I introduced an MBA-oriented course at the Kellogg School of Management on style & luxury management and a course on the fashion industry (the first time the industry was addressed at a major research institution). That provided insight to a management tool that organizations can use to foster deeper emotional connections with consumers.

The MMM Program is the joint program between the Kellogg School of Management and Northwestern Engineering which addresses Design & Operations, while its origins were in addressing the Manufacturing industry. While with MMM, I created & recruited 12 paying clients for the Integration Project, an experiential learning program of integrative consulting projects each year - later adopted for the overall Kellogg curriculum. Further, I introduced a profitable Executive Education program. Other responsibilities included: conceptualizing and overseeing a weekly lecture series; the day-to-day operations of a program for 120 full-time MBA students; planning for and overseeing an annual budget of $5 million; overall communications; curriculum planning; direct an Advisory Board of 25 C-level industry executives and introducing/overseeing a mentoring program.

The Valspar Color Institute was established to investigate the power of color in people's lives. As founding president of the Institute, I was responsible for: identifying key areas of research in establishing the power of color; identifying key researchers in the field of color; commissioning bespoke research on behalf of the Institute; and interpreting those results in a way that spoke to consumers. I was also responsible for acting as the official spokesperson for the Institute, and sponsored a major color industry conference. This required working with a multi-faceted team composed of: internal marketing; outside public relations firm; outside advertising firm; members of the academic community; legal counsel; and conference organizers.

Taught Design Planning, addressing how management and design intersect in order to allow designers be more effective in their larger organizations.

MWJA is the organization bringing together the governors of the Midwestern States together with leaders of Japan's top corporations for business development opportunities. I advised on topics for discussion and matched senior executives from American corporations to speak and meet alongside Japanese counterparts.

Worked with committee of five senior executives to explore, raise funds and provided initial programming for a regional office of the Asia Society. Efforts resulted in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Asia programming.

Non-profit dedicated to fostering the US-Japan relationship.