Infinity Group

Ike Franco is Co-Chairman and Principal of the Infinity Group, which he co-founded in 2005 with Jack Kassin when the two partners formally joined forces and consolidated their families’ respective companies and investments into one management platform. Mr. Franco is the driving force behind the Company’s push into retail-targeted brand asset investments. He acts as Managing Partner of Infinity Lifestyle Brands, the Group’s consumer product business and brand turn-around operating unit.

Over the past fifteen years, Ike Franco has become one of the most experienced and successful buyers of under-performing, yet highly recognized consumer product brands. He orchestrated the acquisition and repositioning of global brands including Starter Athletic/Shaq Apparel, Bugle Boy, XOXO, and Delia’s. More recently, Ike co-managed the acquisition, repositioning and disposition of the former Pillowtex Mill’s home furnishings brands which include Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, and Charisma. The stellar performance of these investments is a testament to Mr. Franco’s deep understanding of the apparel business, and to his selective association with strategic partners. In addition, Ike’s personal experiences with real estate investment, and his partnerships with seasoned developers since the early 1990s, have given him a keen sense for the real estate opportunities inherent in the restructuring of many distressed companies.

Ike Franco holds board seats, and/or retains direct operational involvement, in Infinity Lifestyle’s private companies and internationally renowned consumer product brands. He remains CEO of Franco Apparel Group, one of Infinity Lifestyle’s largest affiliate companies. Ike started Franco Apparel Group in 1988, and grew the Company into one of the nation’s leading manufacturers and distributors of branded childrenswear. Today, the company holds manufacturing and distribution rights for the powerful U.S. professional athletic leagues. Franco produces official player jerseys and team products for the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) under the Majestic Athletic brand. Franco also controls licensing rights for a diverse lineup of notable childrenswear brands including Hello Kitty, New Balance, Laura Ashley Collection, and Eddie Bauer. In 1999, leading private equity group Parthenon Capital acquired a substantial interest in Franco Apparel Group, and the firm has since participated in a number of other successful corporate and brand purchases led by Ike Franco. Prior to starting his own business, Ike worked in the apparel industry at noted dress brand Little Bitty, where he developed his strong entrepreneurial spirit, and natural abilities as a merchandiser and marketer. These skills provided the foundation for his eventual success in the apparel industry, and remain a central part of his business DNA.

Ike Franco is a self-made businessman who has achieved remarkable success in the garment business, the industry in which he started his career. He is considered a leader in the field and has been featured in several major publications including most notably in Entrepreneur magazine, in License magazine, and in Sports Edge magazine as one of the “Top 25 Leaders in the Industry to Watch”. He was also honored as “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the 2004 fashion industry’s Michael Awards. Ike lives in the New York area with his wife, two sons, and four daughters. He is a longstanding supporter of numerous New York City charitable and community organizations.

Jack Kassin is Co-Chairman and Principal of the Infinity Group, which he co-founded in 2005 with Ike Franco when the two partners formally joined forces after more than ten years of cooperation on a variety of individual investment partnerships. Mr. Kassin oversees the group’s long-term investment strategy and financial planning activities. He also maintains a strategic advisory role on the Group’s Real Estate and Lifestyle Brands investments.

Mr. Kassin has a tremendous depth of experience with value investing, developed over 30 years of leadership operating Best Brands Consumer Products, Inc., the business he founded, and one of Infinity Lifestyle’s largest companies. Jack, along with his father and two uncles, built Best Brands from the ground up, transforming the original four-man wholesaler into a global manufacturing firm. The Company designs, merchandises, manufactures, and distributes a variety of branded and private label consumer products in several categories spanning from Home Décor to Electronic Accessories. Jack built Best Brands into a longstanding supplier to hundreds of retailers worldwide, from the largest mass-discounters to more focused boutique chains, through its direct sales force and large distribution network. Mr. Kassin remains Chairman of Best Brands and its international subsidiaries.

Over the 20 years preceding the formation of the Infinity Group, Jack Kassin also made active investments in real estate. Those ventures paved the way for Infinity’s integration of real estate development and management as part of its core operating activities. Some of his early acquisitions centered on strategic niche markets, such as the Northwest Arkansas region, where Wal-Mart is headquartered, while others were more opportunistic in nature, such as his investments in undervalued office, residential properties, and developable land in the Northeast.

Jack has developed a unique personal style of business management and investment, centered on a strong aversion to risk, a conservative and practical approach to assessing it, and an execution bent on measuring all new opportunities. These traits make Jack an invaluable resource for the Infinity Group’s business management teams. He has played a crucial role in setting the tone and culture of our organization, and has instilled Infinity Group with a set of values that serve as a moral compass to measure all of the Group’s business dealings. Our investment style and approach to risk are strongly influenced by his personality and management philosophy.

The product of very humble beginnings, Jack Kassin is a man of principle and integrity. He enjoys a stellar reputation in the industry and among his peers as a self-made business owner and investor, but he is first and foremost a philanthropist and a community leader. He lives in New York City with his wife Joyce, with whom he has three sons, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.

Steve Kassin is a Principal of the Infinity Group, and is Managing Partner of Infinity Real Estate. He has been the driving force behind Infinity’s real estate acquisitions and development projects, since joining the firm in August of 2005. Steve oversees Infinity Real Estate’s day-to-day operations, and is responsible for the management of its current projects and partnership ventures.

Steve’s entrepreneurial drive, business acumen and personality have been instrumental in the transformation of Infinity’s Real Estate’s development activities and investment services. His tremendous energy and creativity have led to the successful acquisition and development of more than two million square feet of commercial property, representing over $500 million in direct investment transactions. Steve managed the launch of many of Infinity’s most successful real estate ventures and partnerships both with fellow developers and with leading financial institutions. Under Steve’s leadership, Infinity expanded into the urban multifamily and hospitality sectors. Building on the Company’s roots in commercial real estate, Steve also grew Infinity Real Estate’s development portfolio focusing on the acquisition and redevelopment of urban office properties and neighborhood shopping centers. His management and growth initiatives are transforming Infinity Real Estate, and are laying the groundwork in our core markets for expanding the firm into a national real estate investment company. Through his persistent work on the Company’s existing portfolio and its co-managed ventures, Steve has greatly reinforced the company’s reputation as a focused and hands-on operator in the markets where it operates.

Prior to joining Infinity, Steve worked at Oppenheimer & Co. in the firm’s U.S. Equity Research group. His previous work experience also included positions with DRS Laboratories, Inc., in the Company’s accounting group, and with Best Brands Consumer Products, Inc. as a member of the Northeast regional sales team.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Science from the NYU Stern School of Business with a double major in Finance and Economic Theory. While there, he was awarded the prestigious New York State Attorney General’s CCC Award, granted to students demonstrating exceptional character and commitment to excellence. In 2005, Steve’s essay on the game-theory topic of the Stag Hunt was featured in an academic publication circulated by The Economist. Steve is a board member of Daymark Realty Advisors, Inc., and serves on the Executive Committee of NAIOP’s New York Chapter. He is also a member of the Professionals in Real Estate Forum (PREF) and of the NYU Stern School of Business Alumni Association. He is an active participant on various industry panels and guest lectures at local educational institutions, including his alma mater. Steve lives in New York City with his wife Liat.

Etienne Locoh is Managing Partner of Infinity Real Estate. He joined the Infinity Group principals in 2008 to help expand the scope of the Group’s real estate investments and operations. Mr. Locoh oversees investment assessment, transaction execution, and portfolio management for Infinity Real Estate. He also heads Urban Century Ventures, a long-term strategic initiative of Infinity Real Estate, focused on urban asset acquisitions and redevelopment projects.

Etienne is a seasoned real estate investor, combining the hands-on execution bent of his early years in the development business, with the analytical discipline and risk management focus of his extensive institutional investment background. He lends our business unique insights into asset selection, deal structuring, and investment management, which are invaluable to capitalizing Infinity Real Estate’s growth and value-creation plans. In the past 15 years, he has led or has been directly involved in over $2 billion of real estate related investments, representing over 40 asset or project investments, acquisitions, or developments, and several private corporate deals. His experience spans nearly all property sectors, with a focus on consumer-related assets, including hotels and resorts, retail, multifamily rental, urban for-sale residential, and homebuilding.

Prior to joining the Infinity Group partners, Etienne was one of the founding members of Citigroup’s private equity real estate fund business in North America. Citigroup Property Investors is a business unit of Citigroup Alternative Investments, and it invests capital for the bank and its institutional investors. Its North American partnership focuses on high yield private equity investments across all property types in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Etienne was responsible for a team focused on alternative real estate and property portfolios investments, and he coordinated the team’s activities in transaction sourcing and underwriting, due diligence, and execution. He served on the board of directors for private investee companies and managed several operating partner joint ventures of the CPI North America Fund. Before joining Citigroup Property Investors, Mr. Locoh was a Vice President at JP Morgan Investment Management where he was charged with originating and executing value-added real estate investments on behalf of the JP Morgan Special Situation Property Fund. Etienne also worked at AEW Capital Partners on the design and formation of IXIS AEW Europe, and with two development-oriented service organizations in Paris and New York, holding finance and project management positions.

Mr. Locoh received an MBA with a Finance concentration from Harvard Business School, and a M.S. from Ecole d’Architecture Paris-La-Seine, with a major in Architecture and a minor in Urban Economics. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and where he sits on the Urban Mixed-Use Development Council. He lives in the New York area, with his wife Suneeta and daughter Ashley.

Steve Kaplan is Chief Financial Officer of Infinity Real Estate, responsible for all financial reporting and control. He oversees all accounting activities, investor reporting, and financial planning for the multitude of Infinity Real Estate partnership entities. He is also responsible for all tax planning activities on every transaction undertaken by the firm.

With over 35 years of experience in accounting and finance, Mr. Kaplan is one of the most seasoned members of our management team and he brings a wealth of expertise to our business on all issues relating to property transaction and real estate portfolio management. Prior to joining Infinity Real Estate, Steven Kaplan was principal of Steven M. Kaplan CPA. Prior to starting his own practice, Steve was a partner at Kaplan & Roberts, CPA for many years, and he also worked for the accounting firm Slater & Slater. Over the past three decades, Mr. Kaplan worked with hundreds of high net worth individuals and real estate organizations throughout the New York area on tax, accounting, and financial matters related to property acquisitions, development, management, refinancing, and dispositions.

Mr. Kaplan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from CUNY Brooklyn College and holds a CPA License from New York State. He is a member of the National Society of Public Accountants and the New York State Society of CPAs. He lives in the New York area with his wife, two sons and daughter.

Albert Kassin is one of Infinity Group’s Principals and is Managing Partner of Infinity Lifestyle Brands. He is responsible for Infinity’s manufacturing, trading, and wholesale businesses. His merchandising and product development experience, coupled with his marketing savvy, give Infinity Lifestyle Brands and its businesses a significant strategic advantage when acquiring and repositioning new businesses, brands or product categories.

Albert is also the acting President of Best Brands, a global consumer product company, and one of Infinity Lifestyle’s largest affiliate companies. The Company merchandises, manufactures, and distributes a variety of branded and private label consumer products. Under his leadership, the Company has acquired product licensing rights for well-known labels such as the Disney, Nickelodeon, and Marvel character collections, Cuisinart, Waverly, and Laura Ashley. Albert has also led the company’s development of globally recognized proprietary brands such as iLogic, Freedom, and Gourmet Club. Under his leadership Best Brands’ expanded its sourcing and manufacturing reach thru Global Direct Consumer Products Group Ltd., its Hong Kong based subsidiary. Albert has been the driving force behind the continued growth of both Best Brands and Global Direct, whose combined revenues have increased at a rate of more than 15% per annum since his joining the family firm.

Prior to his appointment as Managing Partner of Infinity Lifestyle and President of Best Brands, Albert led Best Brands’ sales, marketing, and business development functions for several years. Albert also worked for Johnson & Johnson, holding positions within the brand management teams for three of the Company’s most prominent personal product and drug brands. He was also a member of the pharmaceutical giant’s prestigious Wal-Mart sales team, in Bentonville, Arkansas. Albert was awarded the “Outstanding Achievement” distinction by the Company in recognition for the successful results he delivered serving the Wal-Mart account. Prior to joining J&J, Albert worked for Sunshine Media Corporation, the creators and owners of a number of entertainment websites and online social networks.

Albert graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the NYU Stern School of Business with a double-major in Marketing and Finance. He currently lives in New York City with his wife Ruthie.

Joanne Guglielmo is Chief Financial Officer of Infinity Lifestyle Brands, responsible for all financial reporting and control functions of the business unit’s ventures and investment holdings. She oversees Infinity Lifestyle’s treasury activities, investor reporting, and overall financial planning. She is intimately involved in the preparation of new acquisitions, and/or capital events and restructuring events of its affiliates.

Since joining Infinity Lifestyle Brands, she has led a significant in-house initiative to upgrade the Company’s financial reporting systems and procedures, greatly enhancing its control and reporting capabilities. Mrs. Guglielmo and our in-house finance team directly manage the accounting and reporting requirements of many Infinity Lifestyle subsidiary businesses. This team provides support for some of the most sensitive functions of these subsidiaries’ operations including inventory warehousing and allocation, vendor compliance, royalty reporting and contract negotiations.

Prior to joining the Infinity Group, Mrs. Guglielmo worked as CFO for Harve Benard Ltd., an apparel merchandising company based out of New York. She was also an audit manager with Seymour Schneidman & Associates, concentrating in the apparel and retail industries, and working with small to mid-size manufacturers and merchandisers. Mrs. Guglielmo’s long career focusing on apparel and brand related businesses gives her unique insights into Infinity Lifestyle Brands’ operating activities, and she has become a key asset to the firm’s management team.

Joanne holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University with a major in Public Accounting. She lives in New Jersey with her husband Michael.

Cory Baker is the Managing Director of Brand Strategy and Development at Infinity Lifestyle Brands where he oversees all licensing, marketing, strategy, and development for the current portfolio, as well as new acquisitions and investments.

Prior to joining Infinity, Cory served as the Vice President of Business Affairs & Corporate Counsel at Iconix Brand Group, Inc., the second largest global licensing company. At Iconix, Cory oversaw the legal and business affairs departments and worked on over 10 brand acquisitions and joint ventures, in addition to the company’s marketing and brand management to develop cross-brand licensing expansion. At Iconix, he negotiated the company’s celebrity endorsement/marketing and co-branding campaigns including those with Britney Spears, Tony Romo, Gisele Bundchen, Eva Longoria, Tony Parker, Kim Kardashian, Madonna, and others.

Prior to joining Iconix, Cory practiced law at K&L Gates, LLP and Tucker & Latifi, LLP specializing in intellectual property and media law while representing clients and companies in the film, music, television, fashion, and hospitality industries. Before being admitted to the New York State Bar, Cory worked at Miramax Films, and Court-TV.

Cory holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, in College Park, MD and his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School. He also serves as a board member of the Koby Mandell Foundation and Special Counsel to Artworks, the Naomi Cohain Foundation. Cory is an active speaker and participant on industry panels and guest lectures regarding branding, IP, licensing, entertainment, fashion, and media.