Current speakers

Masako Konishi is the Chief Merchandising Officer at Forever 21, where she leads the Merchandising, Design, Trend & Concept, and Wholesale teams. Prior to Forever 21, Masako held leadership roles at a variety of iconic brands, including Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Fashion Nova, Abercrombie & Fitch, James Perse, and 7 For All Mankind. She began her career at Gap Inc., where she was a graduate of the Retail Management Program and went on to launch the first Banana Republic stores in Japan.

As an avid champion for diversity, Masako currently serves as the executive sponsor for A.S.I.A., the employee resource group for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander associates for SPARC LLC, which includes brands like Brooks Brothers and Reebok, in addition to Forever 21. Previously, she was the executive sponsor for Victoria Secret’s AANHPI inclusion group as well as a founding member of the brand's Executive Diversity Council.