Alexandra Wilkis Wilson is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, and consumer tech advisor who has distinguished herself with a string of digital enterprises that have delighted consumers and disrupted industries. One of the founders of the ecommerce pioneer Gilt, Wilson has thrived at the leading edge of digital, with recent successes in the on-demand economy, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. She’s advised scores of new and developing businesses, served on the boards of public and private companies, and personally invested in 20 startups.
As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clerisy, Wilson is leveraging her trailblazing experience and extensive network once again to support extraordinary entrepreneurs in the consumer/techsumer space. With Co-Founder Lisa Myers, Wilson is building a $100M private equity fund, largely with capital from the international family offices of successful entrepreneurs who can add value to portfolio companies based on their experience.
Most recently, Wilson was SVP, Consumer Strategy and Innovation (2018-2020), for the $15B revenue global pharmaceutical company Allergan, responsible for launching consumer-focused digital properties (Spotlyte and Regi) that transformed the way the company marketed its medical aesthetics portfolio, including BOTOX and Juvederm, to consumers.
In 2016, Wilson partnered with serial entrepreneur J. Michael Cline to create two high-tech fashion businesses that had successful exits, including DRESR, which was acquired by Google before launch for its powerful AI technology, and Fitz, a fashion styling business that was acquired by Tradesy, the world’s largest peer-to-peer marketplace for women’s designer fashion. Wilson was also Co-Founder, CEO, and Board Director at GLAMSQUAD, an Uber-style business that provides inhome hair, makeup, and nail services in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Wilson began her career in Global Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch, and subsequently worked at Louis Vuitton North America and Bulgari Retail USA before joining her co-founders to create Gilt, the shopping and lifestyle etailer that transformed early online shopping with flash sales of luxury designer goods. As Gilt’s Co-Founder and Chief Merchandising Officer, Wilson helped create the winning strategy that defined the user experience and traveled extensively to enlist thousands of global luxury brands to sell on Gilt at steep discounts, which was virtually unheard of at the time. She was also a prominent spokesperson for the company, featured in print and digital campaigns, as well as a symbol of female entrepreneurship in commercials with Avis and Delta. She co-wrote a New York Times bestseller on the company’s meteoric and much-imitated trajectory. Gilt was acquired by Hudson's Bay Company in 2016.
Wilson is a Board Director at KDC/ONE, a privately-held global provider of manufacturing and packaging solutions for the beauty, personal care, and household sectors and a Board Director at Giant Eagle, a privately-held $10BN grocery chain. She previously served on the boards of Corelle Brands, Talalay Global, and Perry Ellis International (Nasdaq: PERY), where she was a member of the Governance, Nominating, Compensation, and Investment Committees. Wilson has been as an advisor to more than 50 startups, and she has also been active in the venture capital community, with prior investment and/or advisory roles at Forerunner Ventures, Montage Ventures, The Female Founders Fund, and The Fund New York.
Wilson earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Harvard College. She has been featured in dozens of major media outlets, received many prominent awards, and given 100+ keynotes and other addresses. A native New Yorker, Wilson now lives among her Cuban roots in Miami and speaks five languages.
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