Director, 26 West Entrepreneurship Center
Kim Richmond
Kim is a passionate brand builder in every sense of the word. As the Director of the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center at State College of Florida, she is creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem including successful founders, mentors, and investors to support entrepreneurs and small business owners and fuel innovation and economic growth in the Bradenton/Sarasota region.
She is a senior executive with extensive marketing and branding experience. She was Executive Vice President, Marketing at FAO Inc. and a member of the senior management team that successfully repositioned and relaunched FAO Schwarz after the sale of the company. Kim has also held senior marketing positions at other major retailers including Zany Brainy, The Right Start, Charming Shoppes and Sears. In addition to her extensive retail background, she also spent seven years at Kraft Foods where she developed a new corporate identity when the $5 billion division was sold to a private equity firm.
Kim also has deep academic experience. She has served as Program Manager and full-time faculty in the Entrepreneurship Program at State College of Florida. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, The State College of New Jersey and Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Kim is a recognized authority in sales and marketing and is the author of two books – The Power of Selling and Brand You. She is a frequent speaker at industry and academic events.
Giving back to the communities in which she lives is important to Kim. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Literacy Council of Sarasota. She also served on the Board of Governors of the Philly Ad Club, the largest professional organization of marketing and advertising professionals in the Philadelphia region with 2,600 members.
Kim holds a Master of Business Administration from Loyola Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University.
