New York, New York, United States
I was always fascinated by the earth's natural ability to create beautiful color and texture in stone. While my father instilled in me a love of entrepreneurship and business, it was my grandfather, a renowned painter and friend to Marc Chagall, who taught me to see the world through the eyes of an artist. This background has inspired me to establish a business working with beautiful materials to bring my client's design visions to life. “Over the past few decades, Karen has pioneered the industry. I’ve seen her evolve into a personal brand - a brand that has the trust of some of the world’s most respected retailers, myself included.” - Marvin Traub, Marvin Traub Associates With the accelerating pace of competition and innovation, cutting edge companies are defined by innovative strategies. As a game changing entrepreneur, operating in most market segments including distribution, retail, manufacturing, wholesale and installation, I create competitive advantage, value, and breakthrough service through improved profitability established by margin optimization and performance improvement. I thrive in global, competitive, complex and challenging environments. Professional Accomplishments: - Built and leads one of the largest global customer centric businesses in architectural stone and materials. - Developed a 35 year sustainable blue print for my organization driven by a culture of customer service, solution based products, processes and customer loyalty. - Implemented game changing solutions such as the first natural stone brand, a patented architectural stone specifier and designed low cost retail porcelain floor tile. - Negotiated and fulfilled over thousands of projects, including multi year nationwide and global contracts with major brands such as Macy's, Nordstrom, Victoria Secret, Gap and Disney. - Negotiated and successfully completed multifaceted complex architectural stone projects on every continent including: La Samaritaine, Paris; Time Warner Center, NY USA, 360 Tennis Arena Kuwait; DFS, Hong Kong, La Senza (worldwide), Watches of Switzerland (UK), Palace of the Lost City (South Africa), Myers (Australia), Odakyu (Japan). Specialties: Architectural products, marble and natural stone, retail stores, hospitality, creative planning, customer centric business development and negotiating complex multifaceted international projects and contracts.
My Passion is the Customer and as CEO and President of Karen Pearse Global Direct, that passion is realized every day by designing tailor made solutions for National and International Retail and Hospitality Brands. Owners, Architects and Designers globally recognize the exquisite personal service and superior knowledge that the Karen Pearse Brand delivers. Products include; Stone, Tile, Glass, Metal, Wood, Porcelain, Mosaics, Carved Stone, and Natural Art for both Interior and Exterior. Services include; National Warehousing, International Logistics, Dedicated Project Management, Reporting, Technical Data, Drafting, Estimating, Global Sourcing and Global Sales.