Stephanie Bond Alumna Profile

HHP alumna Stephanie Bond graduated in 2002 with a BA in Merchandising and Business. Stephanie has spent her career excelling in leadership positions at organizations including Lennox International, Fossil Group and URBN brands. Stephanie’s leadership and community service have been recognized through numerous accolades, including ECU’s Student Affairs Development 40 under Forty leadership award

Upon graduating, Stephanie spent her early career focused on visual merchandising and customer experience at Anthropologie and then Hollister, owned by Abercrombie & Fitch Co., working at the corporate level overseeing operations of the flagship location and managing a staff of 200.

In 2011, Stephanie started a new role as the director of global category at Fossil Group. Stephanie started in sales and grew with the organization, broadening her expertise across departments such as brand and category management, marketing and product storytelling and manufacturing and supply chain. By 2014, Stephanie was promoted to the director for product merchandising and operations. Fossil Group grew from $500 million to $4 billion during her tenure, providing Stephanie the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of all aspects of the business. Stephanie contributed to numerous and diverse brands, from sport powerhouse Adidas to global luxury icon Burberry, at various stages of the brand lifecycle from contract acquisition to game-changing initiatives that led to a global relaunch.

In 2015, Stephanie joined Lennox International as their director of marketing for Lennox stores. In 2018, Stephanie was promoted to Director of Marketing for Lennox Industries’ residential unit. In this role, Stephanie spearheads brand and marketing initiatives that are transforming the way the HVAC giant represents itself in the industry and in the minds of their consumers.

Stephanie is also the driving force behind the company’s corporate social responsibility program, a passion project born from a dream of granting heating and cooling to people in need and better streamlining Lennox’s giving back efforts. Under Stephanie’s leadership, the program has since blossomed into “Feel the Love”, serving 255 homeowners across 40+ U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and earning her LI’s Pacesetter Award for radically changing the way the corporation operates. Stephanie has also redesigned and rebuilt a dynamic marketing team, led a massive B2B2C rebranding effort, drove revenue generating programs and promotions, created best in class industry events and recalibrated 15+ agency partnerships.

Throughout her career, Stephanie has earned numerous professional accolades while also actively supporting various philanthropic endeavors. Stephanie’s “Feel the Love” campaign received the 2019 AMA Marketer of the Year Award in Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing and a 2019 Silver Stevie Award in Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year.

In 2019, Stephanie began serving as an advisory board member at ECU, where she assists and provides strategic advice to the ECU faculty, while also offering knowledge through instructional courses, student panels and senior speed networking to assist with career placement. This past year, Stephanie also received the 40 under Forty leadership award.

Outside of work, Stephanie sits on the board of Seeds of Africa, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and nurturing children and their families by providing quality education and community development programs. Stephanie’s role on the board is to consult specifically on brand opportunities and marketing programs, and Stephanie and her husband also host an annual fundraiser “Chef and Seeds” benefiting the organization’s school nutrition program.

Stephanie’s advice to current and prospective students? “Find your ‘why’. Your why is not a pledge or a motto – your why is purpose coming to life. Through college focus on defining your purpose and values which will benefit others. To become more purpose-driven and generate more meaning, look within to find your gifts. Generously share those strengths, with the goal to try and change people’s lives. If your intentions are good and you want to make a positive impact, then share your ‘why’ with your peers, friends and family. Before you know it, that positive vigor will attract others—and drive collective energy toward action in making the world a better place.”