Rick Helfenbein to be new CEO & President of AAFA

Helfenbein has served as the chairman of AAFA in the past two years, and has remained a member of the board since 2008. He has been an active participant in all the key events of the association. He has also been active in promoting AAFA’s global presence, appearing several times on national television with commentary about international trade and other industry related issues. 

He has years of experience in the US apparel, textile and sourcing industry. He was responsible for the successful US operations of the Hong Kong apparel and footwear giant, Luen Thai (HK 311).

Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from The Wharton School, he participates annually in the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing (COER) at Wharton and Harvard. He lectures frequently on the subjects of supply chain and international trade at industry events and prestigious business schools including Wharton, Harvard, Cornell and Columbia.

Commenting on his appointment as the CEO and president, Helfenbein said, “It is a great honour for me to have been selected to lead AAFA. Having worked in the industry my entire career, I understand the important issues that we face and will continue the fight to expand and protect opportunities for all our member companies.”

“I look forward to working closely with the AAFA team to enhance our leadership position on trade issues, protect our members’ intellectual property and to be the number one trade organisation for our industry, where members can discuss and act on our most important issues,” he added.

Helfenbein will be replacing Juanita Duggan, whose last day as CEO of AAFA will be February 8, 2016. (MCJ)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India