OUR PEOPLE

Brian France, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Brand Sense Partners, Brian France provides strategic guidance for the firm and its wide range of business development and brand extension initiatives. Actively involved in NASCAR for more than two decades, Brian is a member of the NASCAR-founding France family and assumed the roles of NASCAR Chairman and CEO in October 2003. France has been at the forefront of NASCAR's dramatic sponsorship growth, including the recent ground-breaking announcement of Sprint Nextel Communications as the new sponsor of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, which began in 2004. He has also led a host of marketing initiatives including internalizing the sanctioning body's licensing efforts and developing NASCAR's consolidated television plans that culminated with events being broadcast on FOX Sports, FX, NBC Sports and TNT. France has been the recipient of many awards, including "Sports Industrialist of the Year" by The Sports Business Daily and "Marketing Statesman of the Year" by the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). Additional awards include Advertising Age honoring France as one of the publication's top 100 marketers of the year and Promo Magazine naming him as one of that publication's top promoters of the year. He serves on many boards and is the founder and Chairman of NASCAR's Diversity Council, an organization comprised of motorsports executives focused on encouraging greater diversity within the industry.

Ramez Toubassy, President

Ramez oversees all of the firm's day to day operations and charts the strategy for long-term growth. He is responsible for managing all the company’s acquisition, incubation and consulting activities and takes a roll up the sleeves role in the resulting businesses that are created. Ramez also serves as the CEO of BSP portfolio company Shabby Chic Brands and is hard at work directing all aspects of the development of that business. Prior to joining BSP, Ramez served as the head of Business Development for private equity backed Indian Motorcycle Company in Gilroy, California where he was responsible for all non-vehicle businesses including Indian's licensing program, the dealer-channel apparel and merchandise businesses, and the company's eCommerce efforts. Previously Ramez was a principal at Evolution Global Partners, an investment firm focused on partnering with Fortune 500 companies to develop and build new businesses based on under-leveraged corporate assets. Ramez has also spent several years advising senior management of a variety of global corporations in his positions at Deutsche Bank and Price Waterhouse. Ramez holds a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Pomona College.

John Moore, Chief Creative Officer

John made his first major footprint on the industry with Abercrombie & Fitch. In 1999, Moore was handpicked to create the third concept for A&F. Moore conceptualized the brand identity, store concept, directed clothing and graphic design, and named it Hollister Co. Opening its doors in early 2001 and worth a reported $1.8 billion, Hollister is arguably the most successful retail roll-out of all time. He quickly rose up the corporate ranks to Global Conceptual Director of all businesses at A&F. Six years later, Moore went on to become Creative Director of the much-heralded label Modern Amusement where he used his retail knowledge and cultured style to elevate the brand from a little known Southern California street wear label to an in-demand premium collection available in the very best accounts globally. He quickly became known as the California kid with the golden touch - the go-to-guy who was paving his own way in the fashion game.

Monica Hallinan, Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration

Monica is responsible for all financial, information system, human resource, product development and legal functions at BSP. She oversees the intellectual property and royalty processing administration within the agency. Monica brings 16 years of finance and consulting experience to BSP. Prior to joining BSP, Monica served as a professional services consultant for several software companies including Evolve, Counterpoint Systems and Infinium. She possesses vast experience implementing a variety of accounting and royalty processing software applications. Monica was previously employed at Nabisco, Inc. where she held several accounting and finance positions over the course of her eight years of employment. Monica is a Certified Public Accountant. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, Houston TX and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.

Mark Bruinooge, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development

Mark is responsible for leading Brand Sense’s corporate development efforts including identifying and managing strategic business partners, sourcing and structuring investment opportunities and guiding the company’s expansion into new areas of business. Prior to joining Brand Sense Partners, Mark was a founding partner of Fern Templeton LLC, an advisory services and investment company focusing on growth oriented companies in the lifestyle brand, media and technology industries. Previously, Mark was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America Corporation where he was responsible for supporting the executive leadership in developing and executing the growth strategy for the Bank's eCommerce business. Mark was also a member of the Bank's Strategic Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions team that developed and executed acquisition, partnership and investment strategy around the Bank's Payments and eCommerce lines of business. He also worked at Hambrecht & Quist LLC and its successor organization, JPMorganChase and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., where he completed the firm's management training program and worked as an associate in the Corporate Finance group. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Lafayette College.

Kelly Spinks, Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs

Kelly brings over 12 years of intellectual property and licensing experience to Brand Sense Partners, providing legal support for brand and creative services, licensing sales, and business development. Prior to joining BSP, Kelly served as General Counsel of The Roger Richman Agency, where she managed all legal aspects of licensing and enforcing celebrity and historical personality rights. Kelly was previously employed with the United States Postal Service in Washington D.C., securing licensing agreements for the use of intellectual property on stamps and managing the Postal Service’s licensing and consumer book programs. Kelly received her Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and completed her Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Denver.

Travis J. Rutherford, Special Advisor

Travis is the President / C.E.O of Travis James LLC, and independent strategic consulting firm based in Los Angeles, CA. In his special advisory role to BSP, he is charged with developing new business opportunities, aggregating film and television library rights, and assisting in securing new clients and acquisition opportunities. Prior to founding Travis James LLC, Travis was Executive Vice President - Consumer Products and Location Based Entertainment for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios from 2001 - 2008. He directed the worldwide licensing and merchandising activities in all classifications of products that represented 4100+ studio brands, and was executive in charge of decision making for over 400 licenses in 33 global territories. He provided oversight for all theme park, mixed-use real estate, integrated resorts, attractions, and retail development. Prior to joining MGM, Travis was Senior Vice President, Business Development for ememories.com, an online photo processing, digital storage and personalization service company. Travis was Head of Licensing & Merchandising/Retail Development for DreamWorks S.K.G. from 1996 – 2000. He was Director Licensing for Disney Consumer Products from 1993 – 1996, and Vice President Licensing & Marketing for Logan James Ltd., from 1990 - 1993. Travis currently sits on the West Coast Board of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA).