Aaron Spiewak named Vice President / Licensing for HFM U.S. brands

Aaron Spiewak, age 34, has been named to the new position of Vice President/Licensing (Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.) reporting to EVP/COO Philippe Guelton. Spiewak, who joins HFM U.S. today, will be responsible for developing licensing opportunities for all HFM U.S. brands including ELLE, Car and Driver, Metropolitan Home and Woman’s Day.

Recent licensing agreements for HFM U.S.include the ELLE multi-year agreement with the retailer Kohl’s to carry ELLE-branded apparel in their U.S. stores; Metropolitan Home’s partnership with Shermag for a branded collection of contemporary furniture designed by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz and the Car and Driver licensing agreement with Editora Escala to launch a monthly edition of the magazine in Brazil in November 2007.

“Aaron has excellent experience, and he will be instrumental in helping us expand our popular brands into diverse areas,” said Guelton. “There are many licensing opportunities for our properties from product lines to expanding our media platforms to other countries, and we’re confident that with Aaron’s leadership, we’ll see growth in this area.”

Prior to joining Hachette, Spiewak was director, Consumer Products, ESPN from September 2006 to present where he directed day-to-day aspects of ESPN’s branded apparel and accessories program. Prior to that, he was senior director, Licensing & Marketing, Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear in Port Washington, N.Y. (2003-2006) responsible for creating the world-renowned Stephon Marbury “Starbury” footwear and apparel program, garnering License Magazine’s License of the Year, among other international accolades. From 2001 to 2003, Spiewak served as senior director, Licensing Division Consultant, Coaches Division, International Management Group (IMG) where he identified branding and licensing opportunity for all in-house divisions, as well as for new clients.