Paul Marciano

Paul Marciano (born September 1, 1952)[1] is a Moroccan-American-French fashion designer, businessman, investor, and philanthropist.[2] He is the co-founder of Guess? Inc; his black-and-white advertisements have won numerous Clio awards. Initially run by all four Marciano brothers (Paul, Armand, Maurice and Georges), today the company and its extension lines, Marciano and G by Guess, are handled by Paul and Maurice. He is also a large benefactor to one of the larger Sephardic synagogues in Los Angeles, Em Habanim.

Early life

Paul Marciano was born on September 1, 1952 in Debdou, Morocco to a Jewish family of Italian-Jewish descent, from the region of Campania, specifically from the areas around Naples. He was raised in Marseille, France with his four siblings, Georges, Armand, Maurice and Jacqueline. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were rabbis.[3][4]

Career

MGA

Marciano worked in his family's clothing company, MGA (which stood for Maurice Georges Armand), with shops in French Riviera. The Marciano brothers, Paul, Georges, Armand, and Maurice, visited Southern California during an extended leave in 1977, and developed an appreciation for the area. After political changes in France in 1981 and the rise to power of socialist François Mitterrand, the Marcianos closed MGA and moved to the United States. They also ran an MGA on Little Santa Monica in Beverly Hills in the early 1980s. The brothers soon started the world-famous clothing company Guess.[7]

Guess? Inc.

In 1981, the Marciano brothers founded Guess Jeans. In 1983, they sold a 50% stake in Guess Jeans[8] to the Nakash Brothers (Joseph "Joe" Nakash, Abraham "Avi" Nakash, and Raphael "Ralph" Nakash) of New York.[8] The joint venture soured[9] and in 1989, a California superior court jury found that the Nakashes had fraudulently lured the Marcianos into the transaction.[10] In 1990, the Nakash brothers settled for $66 million of $106 million escrowed profits and the ownership of the brand name "Gasoline" while the Marciano brothers received the brand "Diesel."[8][11] Paul Marciano first handled advertising and public relations and later became president and chief operating officer of the company in 1993.[12] In 2004, Paul and Maurice Marciano together owned close to 70 percent of the 44 million shares.[13]

In June 2018, Paul Marciano stepped down as the CEO of Guess following allegations of sexual assault by Kate Upton and four other women which were settled for $500,000. Marciano had previously been accused of sexual harassment in 2008 and 2009, after model Lindsay Ring filed a suit that stated Marciano "began to create a hostile work environment for Ms. Ring by making sexual comments to her, repeatedly touching her inappropriately and without her consent, and attempting on at least two occasions to fondle her sexually after taking her to a private area at the worksite."[14] He became Executive Chairman and remained Guess' chief creative officer.[15]

Other business activities

Along with his brother Maurice, Paul Marciano joined forces in 2013 with Steve Tisch and World Wrestling Entertainment in backing Hero Ventures, a Los Angeles entertainment start-up.[16]

children	4
birth date	September 1, 1952
birth place	Debdou, Morocco
spouse	Kymberly Marciano (divorced) Mareva Georges
known for	Co-founder of Guess? Inc.
occupation	Fashion designer, businessman, investor, philanthropist

Early life

Career

MGA

Guess? Inc.

Other business activities

Philanthropy

Politics

Personal life

See also

Bibliography

External links

References