The JAG Collective Member Spotlight - Aris Lallas

Welcome to the JAG Collective Member Spotlight featuring - Aris Lallas

Video Transcript:

Aris’s family came to America from Greece with $40 in their pockets, in hopes of a better life. What they brought with them was a strong sense of pride in their heritage, and determination to succeed and provide for their family back home. As a young boy he watched as his parents worked in restaurants, opened their own restaurants, and bars and then later western clothing stores.

As Aris began his career he stood by his belief system. “Good is the enemy of great” - the title of one of his favorite books by Jim Collins. Meaning that settling for good can make you complacent. Having that inner drive to excel allowed him to make a huge impact on each brand that he worked for.

He worked for many world class brands. And from each unique position

he gained valuable experience. From his first role at Liz Claiborne on the manufacturing side to his time at Express working in fast fashion, to Guess which was a very image focused brand.

At Disney he was able to help the company save millions, compensate people more equitably across the organization and re engage their workforce in a way they hadn’t experienced in decades.

While working for MAY company he was grateful for the opportunity to travel to many countries he had never been to before like India, Turkey and Sri Lanka where they were in production.

Now in his most recent role with Boot Barn he has quite literally been around the world and returned home. He is overseeing their exclusive brands, everything from footwear to accessories. It's another complex business which seems to be his speciality.

“What's interesting is my dad started with Western wear and jeans and Levi's and Wrangler. And here I am, again, not only selling those brands and developing private label, exclusive brands to come with those organizations.”

Not only does he have a passion for simplifying complex businesses to reveal the path to profitability, but innately he knows that the only way to accomplish the latter is to treat people well.

His family, that instilled hard work, optimism, determination and never settling for anything less than excellence. And having the opportunity to travel and immerse himself in other cultures has culminated in a leadership style that recognizes the importance of building diverse teams. Over the years Aris and his teams have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, because through it all our most valuable asset will always be people.