Bio

Richard co-founded Consumer Growth Partners in 2005. Prior to founding CGP, he spent over 15 years as one of Wall Street’s leading equity research analysts covering the specialty retailing sector at Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs and Sanford C. Bernstein. Mr. Baum led nine initial public offerings and six secondary offerings for many retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Cabela’s, Gymboree, Life Time Fitness, Talbots, Urban Outfitters, Yankee Candle Company and Zale Corporation. Previously, Mr. Baum spent six years in the merchandising organization at Bloomingdale’s. He also served as the Director of Strategic Planning for the predecessor company of Musicland and began his career as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Baum serves as a Board Director for Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) and as Chairman of the Board of Harris Jewelry. He is also the President of RMS (formerly Retail Marketing Society). Mr. Baum earned a BS degree in economics from the University of Michigan where he graduated magna cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He also earned a JD degree from Harvard Law School.