Seth M. Siegel was a co-founder and co-chairman
of The Beanstalk Group, the world’s largest trademark licensing
agency. In 2006, in order to devote himself to not-for-profit
and other business opportunities while still remaining active
at the company he co-founded, he restructured his position at
the company and took the title of Vice Chairman.
A leader in the licensing industry since 1982,
Mr. Siegel remains a highly regarded expert in the areas of corporate
and entertainment licensing. He has advised many Fortune 500 companies
in the proper secondary use of their trademarks, trade dress and
copyrights, and has served as an adviser and/or as the licensing
agent for such leading brand owners as AT&T, IBM, Harley-Davidson,
The Stanley Works, Unilever, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Hershey
Foods, Campbell Soup, and Dr. Scholl’s. Mr. Siegel has also
served as an adviser to and licensing agent for Hanna-Barbera
Productions in the retail and promotional licensed applications
of its classic characters including The Flintstones, The Jetsons,
Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo.
Mr. Siegel’s work has been honored nine
times with the LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association)
Award for Excellence – for promotions (1990), brand extension
(1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2006) and international brand
extension (1999). He also earned advertising industry Clio Awards
in 1984, for excellence in the use of licensing in a national
trade promotion, and in 1985, for excellence in the licensed execution
of an advertising campaign.
Mr. Siegel served two terms as a member of the
Board of Directors of LIMA, the licensing industry trade association,
and thereafter on LIMA’s Advisory Council. He was the moving
force behind LIMA’s creating a charitable tie-in with its
membership and was personally responsible for LIMA’s long-term
relationship with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp
for children suffering from life-threatening diseases.
Mr. Siegel has lectured throughout the United
States and has written articles, opinion pieces, and a criticism
for a wide array of publications, including The New York Times
Op-Ed page and The Wall Street Journal. From April 1995 to June
2004, he was a regular columnist for Brandweek magazine, addressing
a broad range of issues relating to the licensing industry and
pop culture. He has been quoted in such major print and electronic
media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, The New
York Times, the Financial Times (FT), USA Today, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC,
and Fox News, and has been a regular studio guest on CNBC’s
“Wake-Up Call”. He has also lectured as an adjunct
professor at New York University, where he taught a course on
licensing, and has moderated or served as a panelist on many occasions.
To celebrate his 50th birthday, Mr. Siegel privately
published his lifelong quotations collection, along with an introductory
essay, under the title “Other People’s Words.”
Not-for-profit and philanthropic activities
are an important part of Mr. Siegel’s life. He long served
on the Board of Trustees and on the Executive Committee of the
Abraham Joshua Heschel School, which honored him in 1997 for his
leadership role at the School. He also served as chairman of the
Cornell University Hillel, and sits on both the Cornell University
Council and the Advisory Council of Cornell University’s
School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Mr. Siegel was the founding
co-chairman of UJA's Licensing division, and now serves as a vice
chairman of the UJA Entertainment, Media and Communications division.
In addition, Mr. Siegel is a member of the Executive Committee
of AIPAC, and also serves as chairman of AIPAC’s Northeast
region.
Mr. Siegel is also active in a variety of other
community organizations and causes. He was a recipient of a Wexner
Fellowship, a two-year study program for communal leaders sponsored
by Leslie A. Wexner, chairman of The Limited. He has also served
for many years as a Principal for a Day in a New York City elementary
school and is the primary funder of an innovative pilot reading
project at that school. In connection with Mr. Siegel’s
primary school education volunteer efforts, he appeared as a guest
on the "Today" show, where he was interviewed by Matt
Lauer.
Mr. Siegel was a Producer of the Tony Award-nominated
Broadway revival of "Man of La Mancha," and was an Associate
Producer of the Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV mini-series "Dinotopia."
Before his work in the licensing industry, Mr.
Siegel practiced law with a leading entertainment and constitutional
law firm in midtown Manhattan. He graduated from Cornell University
and Cornell Law School, and he studied as a graduate student overseas.
He is widely known by the nickname “Yossi.”
