Board of Directors

Robert Baird is the Chief Executive Officer of A.T. Cross Company, a portfolio company of Clarion Capital Partners. Previously, he was the CEO and President of the Sports portfolio of Dorel Industries, a $1.1 billion global business. Prior to his position at Dorel, he was Chairman of the International Retail Board (2006 to 2008) and President and CEO of Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care (2002 to 2006).

Baird also served as a consultant in the New York office of Egon Zehnder International, with practice specialties in the consumer products industry and marketing management. Preceding his tenure as a consultant, he was the Vice President and General Manager at Samsonite, where he was responsible for its largest business and for setting its global strategy. Prior to Samsonite, he worked in various consumer goods companies in positions of increasing responsibility, including General Motors, Scott Paper, Bristol Myers, and Procter & Gamble. His career began at General Electric in Finance, and he is a graduate of GE’s Financial Management Program.

Baird holds an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg School at Northwestern University, with concentrations in Marketing, Management and Finance. He holds a BA in Economics from St. Lawrence University.

Irene Bailey is originally from Dakar, Senegal, but she grew up in an SOS Village in Germany. Passionate about children’s rights and advocacy, she is a spokesperson for SOS Children’s Villages and is a founding member of SOS Children’s Villages Atlanta Volunteer Committee, where she has been building a network of friends and supporters for the organization since 2005.

Bailey built her career in education and currently serves as Educational Consultant at Public Consultant Group, where she is responsible for establishing partnership opportunities to advance education and instructional support services for students throughout the southeastern United States.

Bailey studied International Relations, Business and Communications at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She actively supports various organizations dedicated to international outreach and meaningful interaction between the state of Georgia and countries around the world.

Nick Catania is a longtime supporter of SOS Children’s Villages - Florida and joined the SOS Children’s Villages - USA Board in 2013 to act as a liaison between the programs. Catania was introduced to SOS in Florida by a friend in 2010. Impressed with the organization and eager to get involved, he quickly volunteered to join the SOS Children’s Villages - Florida Board of Directors. He served as Board Chair in 2013 and 2014. On the Board, he has provided deft leadership through transition and has established a successful annual Back to School fundraising drive. He also personally gives his time at SOS volunteer events.

Catania joined UBS Financial Services in 2007 as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor, after 12 years with Morgan Stanley. He currently leads a team specializing in asset management of high net worth families throughout the United States. Catania attended Barry University, where he studied Economics and Finance.

Karen Davis is responsible for the global philanthropic programs of Hasbro, Inc., including grantmaking, product donations, employee volunteer programs, cause-related marketing and strategic philanthropic relationships. Through these programs and partnerships, Hasbro annually helps over 4 million children in need worldwide. Davis is currently spearheading the company’s philanthropic initiative Be Fearless Be Kind, an effort to develop compassion and empathy in youth. Under her leadership, Hasbro was ranked #1 for philanthropy on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for 2018. Davis is also responsible for Hasbro’s Employee Engagement, overseeing employee networks, feedback, recognition and events. Prior to joining Hasbro in 1998, she worked in higher education in the advancement field.

Davis currently serves on the Rhode Island Board of Education. She was a founder and past chair of the Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals and the founder and past president of the Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island. In addition, she serves on a number of advisory councils and development and event committees.

Rob Gregory has more than 30 years of experience building revenue growth, brand strategy and media business P&L responsibility. He has successfully positioned and launched media businesses in the social media, affluent consumer, thought leadership, news and millennial spaces. He has received numerous professional honors, is a frequent speaker at industry events, and has appeared live on MSNBC, Fox Business News and other national outlets. Mr. Gregory was named to Media Industry Newsletter’s "Most Intriguing People in Media."

Gregory is currently President at WHOSAY, where he built the go-to-market positioning, editorial, sales and marketing strategy. WHOSAY, a social media platform for celebrities, thought leaders and influencers, was successfully sold to Viacom in January 2018.

Gregory also served as President of The Newsweek Daily Beast Company and as Group Publisher at Dennis Publishing, where he oversaw multi-platform revenue streams for one of the largest and most profitable media properties in the world. He also served as Publisher of Rolling Stone and Men’s Journal and held leadership positions at Gourmet and Scientific American.

Gregory is a board member of the National Institute of Social Sciences and an advisor to Algebraix Inc. He is a graduate of Boston University.

Kathy Kladopoulos is the President of The Midas Exchange, a WPP company that delivers “the new gold standard” in corporate trade. At Midas, Kladopoulos leads a world-class team of liquidation and media experts and provides her expertise on strategic 360° integrated media trade platforms. Previously, she launched Carat Trade, Aegis’s global corporate trade solution, which she ran for 10 years and helped expand globally into the United Kingdom, Canada and APAC regions. Prior to Carat Trade, she helped launch IPG’s trade initiative, originally named Western International Trade. Kladopoulos has also served as Executive Vice President of Marketing for Byrne Enterprises, a syndication company, where she led advertising sales for various media syndication groups, including Hearst and Saban Entertainment properties.

Richard Pichler grew up in the SOS Children’s Village near Vienna, Austria. He graduated from the University of Vienna in 1988 with a degree in Business Administration and then began his career with SOS Children’s Villages in South Korea. Shortly afterward, he became National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Philippines and then served as Regional Director of South East Asia.

In 1995, Pichler was appointed Secretary-General (redefined to CEO in 2013) of SOS Children’s Villages International and led the development of the organization across three key areas: providing direct care for children, strengthening vulnerable families and advocating for the rights of children, especially those who lost parental care or are in danger of losing it.

After 20 years as Secretary-General/CEO, he stepped down, and in 2016 he became the Special Representative for External Affairs and Resources. In this role, he represents SOS with the UN and EU and in other major international platforms. He initiates and promotes cooperation with other leading international NGOs and develops funding contacts with major international partners in the government, philanthropic and corporate sectors.

Pichler serves on the Board of NetHope and on the Advisory Council of Tech for Social Impact, and he previously served on the Board of the International Civil Society Centre in Berlin. He worked with UNICEF and the CEOs of other major child-focused international NGOs to set up the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and to advocate for children in the UN-SDGs. Jointly with his peer-CEOs of other five major child focused agencies he formed “Joining Forces for Children” to advance children’s rights globally by implementing the SDGs. Well known in the sector, Pichler often speaks at conferences and on panels about issues in support of children’s rights in care and in danger of losing it.

Robert Pincus represents and advises clients in a wide variety of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, unsolicited takeovers and restructurings as a Partner at Skadden. He also has extensive experience advising clients and other lawyers in the firm on Delaware law aspects of transactions and fiduciary duty and corporate governance matters.

Pincus has represented JLL Partners in connection with numerous acquisitions and recapitalizations, including its acquisition of a majority interest in Ace Cash Express; BioClinica, Inc.; CHI Overhead Doors, Inc.; CoreLab Partners, Inc.; FC Holdings, Inc.; McKechnie Aerospace; PGT Industries; and Patheon Incorporated. He also has advised a large number of portfolio companies of private equity funds in various sales, financing, restructuring and other transactions. Pincus has also assisted a number of corporations in connection with the corporate aspects of financial restructurings, including HealthSouth Corporation and Hayes Lemmerz International Corporation.

Pincus leads the corporate practice in the firm’s Wilmington, Delaware, office, where he is based. He has repeatedly been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America. He was also selected as a 2015 BTI Client Service All-Star by The BTI Consulting Group for providing outstanding client service.

Bill Reese joined the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in 1998 as COO and was appointed CEO in 2005. He oversees IYF’s operations and programs supporting positive youth development in more than 70 countries. Under his leadership, IYF invests in scaling and sustaining proven practice programs focused on workforce development and youth-led entrepreneurship, as well as leadership development for young founders and CEOs of social enterprises. 

Before joining IYF, Reese spent 12 years as President & CEO of Partners of the Americas, the largest citizen-run, volunteer organization working to promote economic and social development in the western hemisphere. He also served for 10 years with the Peace Corps, first as a volunteer in an urban community development project in Salvador, Brazil, and later as director of Brazil operations. He was Deputy Director of the Latin American and Caribbean region before heading a special task force that managed the international celebration of the Peace Corps’ 20th anniversary in 1981. 
 
Reese sits on numerous boards and committees. He serves on the board of Youth Business International, a UK-based nonprofit promoting youth-led business start-ups and entrepreneurship globally, and was founding co-chair of the Alliance for International Youth Development. He also is a board member of Global Citizen Year, which provides a bridge year of international service for U.S. high school graduates before they enter college, and he serves as a founding board member of Solutions 4 Youth Employment, a multi-stakeholder alliance co-created with the World Bank, international development agencies, multinational corporations and civil society leaders to tackle  the global challenge of youth unemployment. Reese served on the U.S. Government’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid from 1991 to 2009. He was appointed chair of the committee by the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and served for nine years, the longest term in the committee’s 70-year history. 

Brian Reinken joined the Board of Directors in 2015. He is a Partner with Egon Zehnder, one of the world’s largest global search firms, and has been with the firm since 1999. He has served in a variety of leadership roles in the firm, including serving as Managing Partner for the U.S. Practice for many years. Reinken also founded and built the Texas offices for the firm. He is a core member of the firm’s CEO and Board Practice and has deep expertise in CEO, C-Suite and Board of Director executive search. He is a core member of the firm’s Global Consumer Practice, with a focus on consumer technology, retail, media and e-commerce. Reinken has extensive global client experience, successfully serving Fortune 500 clients and leading global brands across a broad spectrum of companies.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Reinken was a Director with Compaq Computer (now HP) in Houston, where he led the development and growth of Compaq.com. Earlier, he was general manager of Compaq’s printer division and led strategic planning and business development. Previously, he was a Senior Consultant with Gemini Consulting. He began his career in a variety of finance and marketing roles at Amoco Oil Company (now BP) in Chicago.

Reinken earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Brett is an Investment Team Leader at Veritable and also serves on the Investment Committee. Before joining the firm in 1996, Brett was a senior tax consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand), specializing in personal financial and executive compensation planning. Brett graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and earned a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has served on the Board of the Lower Merion Conservancy. Brett is currently on the Board of the Curtis Institute of Music and serves as the Chair of its Investment Committee and is a member of its Executive, Finance and Pension Committees. He also serves on the Board of the KleinLife and the Investment Committee of the Barnes Foundation. Brett is a CPA, Pennsylvania, and a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Philadelphia.  

Cameron Schmidt was the General Manager of PayPal Canada and is responsible for driving the growth of one of the company’s largest markets. At PayPal Canada, Schmidt drives payment innovation, accelerates the growth of commerce, and manages relationships with the company’s key stakeholders and financial network partners. In this role, he also provides strategic direction to improve the shopping experience for PayPal Canada’s more than 5.5 million active users. Prior to PayPal, he spent six years at Intuit Inc., where held various positions from business unit vice president and head of small business group government relations, to product marketing, business development, and key customer management roles. Prior to Intuit, he held leadership positions at companies including Warner Lambert (now Pfizer), and he has been a board advisor to technology companies.

Schmidt holds a degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Emily Chang was most recently svp, marketing at Starbucks. She joined Starbucks as China cmo in 2017, responsible for marketing, sales, loyalty, customer engagement, and digital flywheel (ecommerce, payments, partnerships). She helped open the first Starbucks Roastery outside of Seattle, tripled digital tender, managed the commercial side of Starbucks’ largest merger, and launching the brand’s delivery program. Emily then relocated to Seattle to drive brand and marketing transformation in the U.S. business.

A strategic business leader with over 20 years’ experience, Emily is a seasoned executive known for globalization, cross-cultural team leadership, change management, and innovative brand building.

Prior to Starbucks, Emily was the Chief Commercial Officer for IHG, Greater China, where she was responsible for all commercial functions across Greater China. Looking after 320+ hotels and an extended team of 5,200 Sales & Marketing members, Emily spearheaded the market share turnaround of six hotel brands.

Moving to Shanghai back in 2011, Emily built a high-performance marketing organization that established the face of Apple Retail in Asia Pacific. She first developed her Marketing expertise at Procter & Gamble, with 11 years of end-to-end business experience across all three business units and spanning everything from upstream design to retail marketing with Walmart. 

Emily has spoken at select conferences and events, including Fortune Most Powerful Women’s Summit in Hong Kong and C2 in Montreal. She has delivered two TEDx Talks, one of which is being expanded to book form, called The Spare Room. She holds a B.A. in Biology and an MBA in Competitive Strategy and Finance. In her free time, Emily enjoys writing and teaching. Most of all, she loves spending time with family: her husband of 19 years, her 10yr daughter Laini, and their two rescues, Holly Berry the mutt, and Puffin the pug.

David Mitchell has been a passionate friend and supporter of SOS Children’s Villages since 2005, when he first encountered SOS Emergency Relief teams in Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami. A retired United States Air Force Captain, Mitchell has personally flown to visit SOS Villages, Relief Programs, and Family Strengthening Programs in Bosnia, Nicaragua and Haiti on multiple occasions. In January 2010, he visited the SOS Village in Santo, outside of Port-au-Prince, to aid in relief efforts within two days of the Haiti earthquake. 

From 1973 to 1980, Mitchell flew missions with the Air Force in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and the Arctic Circle. After his honorable discharge in 1980, he worked with the oil and gas industry and with large-scale commercial/corporate agriculture. He now runs a general contractor commercial industrial construction business. 

In addition to his service to SOS Children’s Villages, Mitchell also worked to help children at risk as Board Chairman for the Tyler, Texas/Smith County Child Welfare Board, and he continues to work with youth in his community of Southlake, Texas. He received a BBA with a major in Management and a secondary in Marketing from Southern Methodist University.