Seth M. Siegel

Seth M. Siegel was a co-founder and co-chairman of The Beanstalk Group. In 2006, in order to devote himself to not-for-profit and other business opportunities while still remaining active at the company he co-founded, he restructured his position at the company and took the title of Vice Chairman.

A leader in the licensing industry since 1982, Mr. Siegel remains a highly regarded expert in the areas of corporate and entertainment licensing. He has advised many Fortune 500 companies in the proper secondary use of their trademarks, trade dress and copyrights, and has served as an adviser and/or as the licensing agent for such leading brand owners as AT&T, IBM, Harley-Davidson, The Stanley Works, Unilever, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Hershey Foods, Campbell Soup, and Dr. Scholl’s. Mr. Siegel has also served as an adviser to and licensing agent for Hanna-Barbera Productions in the retail and promotional licensed applications of its classic characters including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo.

Mr. Siegel’s work has been honored nine times with the LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association) Award for Excellence – for promotions (1990), brand extension (1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2006) and international brand extension (1999). He also earned advertising industry Clio Awards in 1984, for excellence in the use of licensing in a national trade promotion, and in 1985, for excellence in the licensed execution of an advertising campaign.

Mr. Siegel served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of LIMA, the licensing industry trade association, and thereafter on LIMA’s Advisory Council. He was the moving force behind LIMA’s creating a charitable tie-in with its membership and was personally responsible for LIMA’s long-term relationship with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp for children suffering from life-threatening diseases.

Mr. Siegel has lectured throughout the United States and has written articles, opinion pieces, and a criticism for a wide array of publications, including The New York Times Op-Ed page and The Wall Street Journal. From April 1995 to June 2004, he was a regular columnist for Brandweek magazine, addressing a broad range of issues relating to the licensing industry and pop culture. He has been quoted in such major print and electronic media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, the Financial Times (FT), USA Today, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News, and has been a regular studio guest on CNBC’s “Wake-Up Call”. He has also lectured as an adjunct professor at New York University, where he taught a course on licensing, and has moderated or served as a panelist on many occasions.

To celebrate his 50th birthday, Mr. Siegel privately published his lifelong collection of quotations, along with an introductory essay, under the title Other People’s Words.

Not-for-profit and philanthropic activities are an important part of Mr. Siegel’s life. He long served on the Board of Trustees and on the Executive Committee of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, which honored him in 1997 for his leadership role at the School. He also served as chairman of the Cornell University Hillel, and sits on both the Cornell University Council and the Advisory Council of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Mr. Siegel was the founding co-chairman of UJA's Licensing division, and now serves as a vice chairman of the UJA Entertainment, Media and Communications division. In addition, Mr. Siegel is a member of the National Board of Directors of AIPAC, and also serves as chairman of AIPAC’s Northeast region.

Mr. Siegel is also active in a variety of other community organizations and causes. He was a recipient of a Wexner Fellowship, a two-year study program for communal leaders sponsored by Leslie A. Wexner, chairman of The Limited. He also served for many years as a Principal for a Day in a New York City elementary school and was the primary funder of an innovative pilot reading project at that school for nine years. In connection with Mr. Siegel’s primary school education volunteer efforts, he appeared as a guest on the "Today" show, where he was interviewed by Matt Lauer.

Before his work in the licensing industry, Mr. Siegel practiced law with a leading entertainment and constitutional law firm in midtown Manhattan. He graduated from Cornell University and Cornell Law School, and he studied as a graduate student overseas.

Mr. Siegel was a Producer of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of "Man of La Mancha," and was an Associate Producer of the Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV mini-series "Dinotopia."

He also serves as Vice Chairman of Sixpoint Investments, a placement agency specializing in raising capital for private equity and hedge funds. He is also a founding member of the Board of Directors of Vringo, an innovative mobile content company.

Mr. Siegel is widely known by the nickname “Yossi.”

Published Pieces by Seth M. Siegel

-- Begin's Coming Test -- The New York Times [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30810F73B5C0C708DDDA80894DA484D81]

-- Stories of Survival -- The Wall Street Journal [http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110006658]

-- Bogus' Revelation: It's the Brand, Swami -- Brandweek [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_23_40/ai_54840738]

-- The Zen of Toy Fair -- Brandweek [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_n6_v39/ai_20303418]