Charles LaCalle, CEO/Co-Founder, The Cultivate

Charles LaCalle has held numerous roles in the retail and luxury sector. In his most recent posi- tion, he founded and served as CEO of a hybrid factoring and e-commerce company called The Cultivate. The purpose of The Cultivate is to provide financial support as well as front-end service consulting to emerging fashion designers. He also worked as an analyst at the Pao Principle, a Manhattan-based luxury consulting firm. In this role, he helped to conduct the largest-ever survey of luxury consumers in mainland China. In addition, he marketed the survey to luxury houses in America and Europe. Mr. LaCalle also worked with Oscar de la Renta on brand expansion into mainland China and has had experience working with cosmetics and fragrance companies. During his sophomore year at Harvard, he worked at IMG Russia to handle corporate sponsorships at Moscow fashion week. Previously, he worked as a risk analyst at Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea, one of the leading micro finance banks in Cambodia. At Harvard, he is an editorial writer for The Crimson newspaper, as well as a member of the newspaper’s business board. He is currently writing an article series on the business section of The Huffington Post on various aspects of the fashion industry.