Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies

As a 29-year veteran with Kayser-Roth Corporation, Kevin Toomey was named president and CEO in November 1997. During his years with the company, he has served in a broad range of managerial capcities including Finance, Strategic planning and Aquisitions, and Marketing in the Sock Group, Food/Drug/Mass Group in Department Store Specialty Group.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Syracuse University.

Robin Mack Davis is the founder and co-owner of Mack and Mack, a Greensboro-based company that produces better women's clothing. She started the company in 1995 in a business incubator, then moved into her present location in 2000. With years of sewing experience growing up, Robin had no trouble finding work when she moved to New York right after college in 1972. While earning a two-year certificate in fashion design at The Traphagen School, she took a job with James T. Clarke, an established fashion designer and the one who discovered the Magic fabric that Robin uses today. She left the world of fashion in 1980, only to be drawn back following Clarke's death in 1991, when she learned that he had left her his patterns.
Every item made by Mack and Mack comes from her local 7300 square foot showroom. "Even if we believed in outsourcing – which we definitely don't – it isn't possible to get the quality of workmanship that these clothes require," says Robin. Robin feels that the real beauty of the line lies in the fabric itself. A high-twist polyester crepe, the lightweight fabric feels and drapes like silk but without the high maintenance. Best of all, it looks good on women of all sizes and is machine washable. Mack and Mack is currently available in 65 boutiques nationwide.

Susan S. Nichols is publisher of Apparel Magazine of Edgell Communications. A 21-year veteran of the publication, Susan is responsible for all Apparel brand products.
Susan is a member of the Product Innovation Council and a member and past chairman of the Supply Chain Leadership Committee, both part of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. She also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation.
Additionally, Susan serves as a director of the American Apparel Education Foundation and on the Industry Advisory Board for the University of North Carolina-Greensboro's Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of South Carolina's College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Susan holds a B.S. in news-editorial journalism. She resides in Greenville, SC.

Sid Smith is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of one of the country’s most prestigious trade associations, The Hosiery Association. Formerly known as the National Association of Hosiery Manufacturers, under Mr. Smith’s leadership, this organization was transformed into an international group that is recognized worldwide in their product sector. Mr. Smith worked for the organization for thirty years, two-thirds of those as President and Chief Executive Officer. In this position, he worked with some of the world’s leading consumer marketing companies and brands like Sara Lee, Hanes, L’Eggs, No-nonsense and Gold Toe, as well as major industrial companies like DuPont, Bayer, Unifi and others.
In his work, he served as an advisor to the U.S. government on international trade matters and was deeply involved in monitoring and shaping foreign trade agreements in textiles and apparel. He is considered an expert in international trade issues and globalization, having visited more than 35 countries in his career.
He currently serves as a member of the International Editorial Board for the North Carolina State University, Journal of Textiles and Apparel Technology and Management.
Prior to joining The Hosiery Association, Mr. Smith served four years active duty as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Captain. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran, receiving the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
He graduated from Wofford College, in Spartanburg, South Carolina with degrees in economics and business.

Rick Schneider as born in New York, New York but has been living in Greensboro, NC for 20 years.  He is happily married with three great children ages 19 to 26.
He is an Independent Fashion Industry Consultant at Textile International Enterprises focusing on Strategic market analysis, market/agency representation, Sourcing and International networking. He has over twenty five years of fashion and textile experience primarily at Burlington Industries in multiple roles ranging from sales to Executive level merchandising and International business development.
He received his MBA from New York University and his BS Montclair State University. Rick is involved in Executive programs at University of Virginia and UNC Chapel Hill.

Gary Simmons has been a respected member of the in the apparel industry for over 30 years and is currently the  President/CEO of Gerber Childrenswear. He began his career as buyer and has represented companies and brands such as Toddler University, Healthtex, and VF Playwear, Lee Kids, and Nike.
In addition to serving on the CARS Industry Advisory Board, Mr. Simmons also serves on the University of Cincinnati’s Business College Advisory Board, NC State’s Clothing & Textile Advisory Board and the board for KIDS - Kids in Distressed Situations  as Vice Chairman . Mr. Simmons is a Graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio with a B.A., Marketing and Finance

In his post as president and chief executive officer of Cotton Incorporated, J. Berrye Worsham oversees the company’s global research and marketing programs.

Mr. Worsham, who joined Cotton Incorporated in 1983, previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.  He has also served as vice president, corporate planning and program development, where he developed the company’s five-year strategic plan; director, market research; director, fiber and economic analysis; and manager, cotton analysis.

Before joining Cotton Incorporated, Mr. Worsham was senior business analyst of JI Case Company, Racine, WI.

Mr. Worsham, in addition to serving on the CARS Advisory Board, is also a member of the board of directors of Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation in Cary as well as the Cary Chamber of Commerce.

A 1978 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Mr. Worsham received his MBA, with concentration in quantitative analysis and economics, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1979.

Mr. Worsham resides in Cary, N.C. with his wife, Donna and their three daughters.