Saks Insiders
Meet the people behind the fashion and fantasy of Saks Fifth Avenue
Terron Schaefer
Terron E. Schaefer, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, has broad international marketing and fashion expertise that includes award-winning branding, product positioning, and advertising campaigns for world-class organizations such as Saks, Bloomingdale’s, Harrods, Macy’s, and Doyle Dane Bernbach. Prior to joining Saks Fifth Avenue, Mr. Schaefer held the position of Senior Vice President, Marketing for Warner Bros. Worldwide, where he led all marketing functions.
Colleen Sherin
Known to personify the true Saks Fifth Avenue lady, Colleen Sherin’s great business sense is mixed perfectly with her tasteful and elegant style. As Senior Fashion Director, it’s Sherin’s job to be in the know, which she most certainly always is. A graduate of The American University in Washington, D.C. with a degree in international business, Sherin began in the buying office before joining the fashion office, where she attends all the top women’s ready-to-wear fashion shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris and forecasts the main trends of the season to bring to you at Saks!
Eric Jennings
Eric Jennings certainly has a taste for the finer things in life — after almost four years at Saks, Jennings has more than earned his title as our expert on style, travel and living well. An avid runner, piano player and traveler (for both work and pleasure), the San Francisco native worked as Brand Director at Hickey Freeman, Sales Manager at Hugo Boss and Account Executive at Giorgio Armani before joining Saks as Vice President & Fashion Director for Menswear, Home, Food & Gifts. “Working at Saks gives us such a unique bird’s eye view of the industry,” Jennings says. “We are at all the fashion weeks and have the opportunity to get behind many designers just as they are getting started. We are seeing what’s really happening in fashion, which is what I absolutely love.”
Deborah Walters
Need to know the latest about the best lotions and potions on the market? Then Deborah Walters, Senior Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager of Beauty, is your girl. The Pana, IL native has been with Saks Fifth Avenue for 19 years. Besides beauty, Walters has a passion for real estate — renovating, decorating and landscape design. She loves sailing, biking, hiking and skiing. Walters spends a great deal of her spare time cooking, spending time with her dogs, Stella and Luna and has great pride in her daughter’s passion for horses and equestrian activities.
Betty Wang
Betty Wang is our master at mixing it up. From Helmut Lang and Phillip Lim to Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, Wang effortlessly displays impeccable style and business wit. A graduate of Dartmouth, Wang joined Saks as Senior Buyer of Designer Shoes with a great deal of diverse experience behind her. She was an intern at the White House, volunteered at New York’s Henry Street Settlement where she developed a Survival Skills English class for recent immigrants and worked in International Business Development for JP Morgan. Besides her love of fashion, Wang is an avid equestrian, student of foreign languages and loves attending old school group aerobic classes — especially step aerobics.
Yumi Shin
Yumi Shin has an eye for great fashion, which is why it’s her job is to scour the globe on a quest for the most fascinating, talented designers — and she makes sure to bring them to the Saks customer. A New York native, Shin joined Saks more than five years ago. Fashion retail is clearly in her blood. In her spare time, Shin loves vintage and antique shopping. “Whether I’m abroad or have some spare time to troll the amazing markets here in New York, visiting my favorite shops or at home surfing the Internet, I love the thrill of finding that perfect piece,” she says.
Denise Magid
From providing Saks customers with the coolest casual summer pieces to wardrobing stylish working moms, Denise Magid is clearly a style specialist. The New Jersey native has been with Saks for nearly nine years, working her way up from Dress Buyer to where she sits today as Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager of Contemporary Sportswear. Besides loving her career in fashion retail, this mom to 10-month-old twins loves to spend her spare time cooking and baking for her family. “I make a pretty insane carrot cake from a recipe I took from Le Bernardin,” she says. Magid also loves to travel (most recently to Marrakech), read and check out live concerts with her husband.
Elizabeth Kanfer
From scarves to bags to jewelry, Elizabeth Kanfer is our in-house accessories encyclopedia. Hailing from Northern Virginia, Kanfer joined Saks as an intern in the Public Relations and Events office before working her way into the Fashion Office. “I spotted my dream job many years ago and worked hard to just work around the people in those roles,” she explained. “Suddenly, I realized I was working towards that career path.” As Accessories Director at Saks, Kanfer has access to just about every accessories designer possible, but chooses only the best mix for the Saks customer. Besides fashion, Kanfer is obsessed with home décor and interior design. She loves exploring New York, regularly checking out the newest restaurants and museum exhibits and just recently moved to Westchester with her husband and daughter.
James Krohn
James Krohn knows fashion very well. He knows his clients even better. As our Director of the Fifth Avenue Club at Saks in San Francisco, Krohn is consistently in the know when it comes to what his clients want and need. “I learned a long time ago that with a client-based business, no request is truly challenging or off the table,” he says. “I love surprising people by saying ‘yes’ to crazy requests.” A Montreal native, Krohn has worked at Saks for over 17 years. In his spare time, he has been busy exploring Japan, which he makes sure to visit at least twice a year. “From a design perspective they are at the forefront and yet there is this amazing interplay between absolute modernity and very ancient traditions and cultural codes,” he explains.