David Burnett has over 45 years of combined retail and wholesale experience in the fashion industry. After graduating from Wesleyan University, he started his career at Saks Fifth Avenue leaving after positions as buyer, store manager and Assistant to Vice President, Women’s Ready to Wear. He has held leadership positions as President of Anne Klein Swimwear, Liz Claiborne Swimwear and Director of Design at Victoria’s Secret.
As chief merchant at Venus Fashions Inc., a catalog and online retailer owned by the Otto Group, Hamburg, he oversaw the merchandise and creative areas both in Jacksonville and Boca Raton, Florida. He joined Venus in 2013 as Vice President, Merchandising and Creative. At Venus, his varied knowledge of multiple functional areas enabled top and bottom-line growth. In evolving the brand and product speed, sustained profitability along with customer acquisition were areas of critical focus.
In January 2018 he retired from Venus to balance his life and work on building a consulting business in merchandising and to make space for other endeavors long put on hold.
David sits on the advisory board of LIM (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) College in New York. He and his husband reside in both Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Lakeville, Connecticut.
