Sara Fernstrom
Sara Fernstrom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Berkeley College |
| Known for | Co-Founder and CEO of Blisser |
Sara Fernstrom is an American serial entrepreneur, who is the co-founder and CEO of Blisser. Prior to co-founding Blisser, she founded and served as CEO of Lyft Brands Group, and was the co-CEO of the publicly-listed fashion retail company Odd Molly.
Education
Fernstrom graduated with honors on top of her class with 3.94 GPA, with a Bachelor of Science from Berkeley College, magna cum laude in International Business, Management and Administration.
Career
Upon graduating college, Fernstrom was accepted into NBC Universal's highly competitive Page Program which only accepted around 1.5 percent of its applicants. As part of the Program, Fernstrom rotated across different divisions within NBC Universal, including CNBC, the Today Show, The Tonight Show. She also worked in PR and Marketing for Focus Features, Universal Pictures, and the Digital Distribution division.[1]
Fernstrom worked for almost ten years as an agent at United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency, where she had an instrumental role in corporate development, acquisitions, new digital ventures and licensing on behalf of her own and the agencies clients including world renowned celebrities, leading digital influencers, award winning fashion brands, multi-national retailers and cutting-edge technology companies.[1]
In 2014, Fernstrom founded Lyft Brand Group, a brand acquisition and management company backed by a number of leading PE firms. She created repeated value for both investors, employees and licensing partners. Her ability to blitzscale and successfully grow a business was proven as the company grew its revenue with more than 500% in just a few years with her as the CEO. She spearheaded expansion to 80+ countries, managed corporate strategic projects, and directed new brand acquisitions and corporate funding initiatives.[2]
In 2018, Fernstrom became the co-CEO of the publicly-listed fashion retail company Odd Molly.[3] At Odd Molly, she successfully led 100 employees through a complex corporate restructure, which resulted in significant operational improvements, cost savings and increased productivity. She also drove an increased digital focus and converted the company’s global business to a more asset light successful licensing model.[4][5]
In 2020, Fernstrom co-founded Blisser, a tech start-up in media and entertainment. The platform allows fans to connect with top-tier celebrities and world leaders, while also helping various charity causes.
Philanthropy
Fernstrom has been involved in numerous social impact initiatives and projects globally, holding various appointments on boards and advisory councils including Co-Chairman of UN Women. She has worked with UTA Foundation and among other things partnered with One Kid World to execute the Extreme School MakeOver in El Salvador. She led lectures for the UTA Trainee Program at UTA University. She was also the Co-Head of the CAA Task Force, where she was instrumental in influencing positive social change, encouraging volunteerism among young CAA executives and helped raise public awareness and funds across the entertainment industry. This included developing and executing The Young Hollywood Party, raising a record amount of $170,000 for Communities in Schools in one night.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sara Fernstrom - Chief Executive Officer | Lyft Brands Group". The Tycoon Magazine. 2020-05-25.
- ↑ "Odd Mollys nya ledarduo ska ta företaget ut i världen". Ehandel.se (in svenska). 2018-07-05.
- ↑ Singh, Prachi (2018-08-15). "Eyeing international expansion, Odd Molly hires two senior executives". FashionUnited.
- ↑ Feitelberg, Rosemary (2018-08-13). "Swedish Label Odd Molly Gears Up for U.S. Expansion". WWD.
- ↑ Hughes, Huw (2019-07-17). "Odd Molly co-CEO steps down, stays on as advisor". FashionUnited.