Board of Directors

Jerry D. Guess is director and chairman of the Board of Directors of Guess & Co. Corporation. Mr. Guess has over 15 years of business and professional experience. A serial entrepreneur, he started his first business when he was 13 years old. He launched a public relations and marketing firm at the age of 15 years old. When he was 16 years old, he started a holding company that grew rapidly within a few months. Mr. Guess began acquiring companies when he was 17 years of age. Despite personal setbacks, Mr. Guess decided to launch a mission-driven company when he founded Guess & Co. Corporation in 2017. Determined to positively impact society, Mr. Guess assembled a Board of Directors and management team while initially serving in a non-executive capacity as a principal.  Mr. Guess completed business coursework at Adams State University. He was appointed chairman of Guess & Co. Corporation in January of 2019. As chairman,  Mr. Guess oversees the Board of Directors of Guess & Co. Corporation. He is a member of the executive committee.  

James R. Jackson is shareholder, director and deputy chairman of the Board of Directors of Guess & Co. Corporation.  Mr. Jackson is an experienced financial professional. He retired from Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) after over 37 years of service. He began his financial career as a fiduciary tax associate for the financial institution. Mr. Jackson became a charitable trust officer for the bank and was responsible for managing over 500 accounts for the bank's wealth management clients. Following his retirement, Mr. Jackson became a partner in a private security service. In that role, he facilitated training and handled administration and business development. Mr. Jackson joined Guess & Co. Corporation initially as special adviser and worked closely with the board of directors and senior management on important matters. As a director and deputy chairman, Mr. Jackson is responsible for overseeing the governance of the company along with the chairman. Mr. Jackson served as vice-chairman prior to his current position. He was appointed deputy chairman in October 2021. He is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors. Mr. Jackson is chairman of the nominating and governance committee of the board of directors, and a member of the audit committee of the board of directors.  

 Colleen Berry is shareholder, director and vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of Guess & Co. Corporation.  Ms. Berry is an experienced public accounting professional. She began her career in public company accounting with Ernst & Young and remained with the firm until her retirement as a partner. During her time at the firm, Ms. Berry was a partner in the Assurance division, and specifically, the Financial Services Organization (FSO), Banking and Capital Markets Group Practice. Ms. Berry served as a trusted advisor to the audit committee and management teams of broker-dealers, mutual funds, and banks throughout North America and abroad. Her tenure with Ernst & Young included being based in the firm's Cincinnati, Chicago, Toronto, and McLean offices. Ms. Berry earned her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with a minor in French from the University of Dayton. She earned a Master of Science in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Virginia and a Chartered Accountant by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. She completed the EY Executive Management Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Ms. Berry was appointed to the board of directors in September of 2021 and appointed vice-chairman in October of 2021. As a director and vice-chairman, Ms. Berry is responsible for overseeing the governance of the company along with the chairman and deputy chairman.  Ms. Berry is a member of the executive committee, a member of the audit committee, a member of the nominating and governance committee of the board of directors. 

Mitchell M. Cohen is shareholder and lead director of Guess & Co. Corporation. Mr. Cohen is chief executive officer of Pursuit Management LLC, a New York based investment firm that operates a private asset purchasing platform. He has more than 30 years of financial, operations and general business experience as a senior executive at several public and private companies.  He is the former interim chief financial officer of a publicly traded investment management company and the Special Trustee of Consumer Debt Trust, a trust established to acquire distressed debt. Mr. Cohen spent five years as the chief financial officer and secretary of Asta Funding, Inc., a publicly traded company that acquires and liquidates distressed consumer receivables. During his tenure, Mr. Cohen assisted in acquiring approximately $15 billion of consumer receivables for liquidation, completed several mergers, and managed a portfolio of over 300 pools of distressed assets. In recent years, he has underwritten, and sourced for investors, pools totaling over $300 million. As lead director, Mr. Cohen oversees governance of the board of directors. He is a member of the nominating and governance committee and also chairman of the audit committee. 

Paris N. Smith is shareholder and director of Guess & Co. Corporation. Ms. Smith served as initial and interim lead director of Guess & Co. Corporation at the company's launch in 2017. Prior to Guess & Co. Corporation, Ms. Smith was Lead Director for  a multi-million dollar diversified private holding company following her tenure as vice-chairman and secretary. Ms. Smith is an experienced business and cyber security professional with over a decade of experience. She completed studies at University of North Carolina at Charlotte before studying Network Security at ECPI College of Technology. Ms. Smith earned a Cyber Security Degree from Strayer University. She has held several technology management positions including serving as deputy director of technology for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Most recently, Ms. Smith has been an electronic discovery and forensics analyst for the government. Ms. Smith holds an active Top-Secret/SCI Clearance. She is a member of the audit committee and nominating and governance committees. Ms. Smith was re-appointed to the Board of Directors in March of 2019.  

Stephen T. Baldacci is shareholder and director of Guess & Co. Corporation. Mr. Baldacci was appointed to the Board of Directors in September of 2020.  Mr. Baldacci previously served as senior executive vice-president, chief corporate officer and group president of operations for the company. Mr. Baldacci served as president and chief marketing officer of The Washington Redskins, a professional team in the National Football League. In that role, he was responsible for reviving a legendary brand and he succeeded in making it one of the most valuable franchises in the league. He was an equity partner and the chief marketing officer for Snyder Communications, an advertising firm, where he helped successfully grow the company from $4 million in annual revenue to over $1.4 billion, and facilitated the firm's eventual sale. As founder and CEO of Baldacci Communications/BC Worldwide, Mr. Baldacci provided consulting, marketing and post-merger integration management to many clients including AMTRAK, GEICO, Apogen Technologies and Virginia Tourism. Mr. Baldacci earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Hartwick College and participated in graduate studies at Georgetown University. Mr. Baldacci is a member of the nominating and governance committee and executive committee. 

Raymond L. Scott is shareholder and director of Guess & Co. Corporation. Mr. Scott was appointed to the Board of Directors in April of 2021 and was elected to his first term in May of 2021. Mr. Scott is a licensed and award-winning architect with four decades of experience. Mr. Scott is managing partner of Scott + Cormia, an architecture and design firm based in Orlando, Florida. He began his career with W.R. Frizzell Architects in Orlando. He then joined Frank Lloyd Wright’s southeast partner, Schweizer Associates. Mr. Scott has won numerous awards and he has been a leader in the professional community. He is past president of Mid-Florida AIA and past state president of AIA Florida. Mr. Scott earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Louisiana State University and a Graduate Studies Degree from Harvard University. Mr. Scott is a member for the nominating and governance committee and compensation committee of the board of directors.