Elaine Hughes is one of the most trusted and successful professionals in the consumer executive search industry. For almost 35 years, the world’s largest retailers, apparel, and textile companies have turned to her both in management crises and for her expertise in long-term management team building strategy. Elaine’s credentials include many years of real experience both on the inside and the consulting / executive search side of her beloved industry. This combination of experiences has honed Elaine’s well-known ability to grasp the real needs of a business and match that with the executive candidate who has both the style and experience needed to create a winning fit. After being graduated from Hunter College with a degree in Art and Education, Elaine was hired by Springs Industries as the first female account executive in the Company’s apparel fabrics division. Springs realized Elaine’s potential and helped her develop it further by promptly sponsoring her MBA degree which she received from Sacred Heart University. Elaine went on to marketing positions in the textile industry with Malden Mills and Blue Ridge Winkler textiles. In 1991, after a term as partner in the executive search firm of Bader Hartley, Elaine founded E.A. Hughes & Co. Elaine was named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year in 1996. She is a three-term board member of Women in Management, where she initiated both the WIM Scholarship Fund and the WIM Mentorship Program. She is also a founding member of the New York Textile Group. Elaine currently sits on the Board of the Dolan School of Fairfield University, one of the top private university business schools, is on the Board of the North Carolina Textile Foundation, University of North Carolina Charlotte, and on the Advisory Board for Springs Creative in Rock Hill, SC. Elaine was previously on the Board for Baseball Express, a catalog company, as well as on the Global Advisory Board for F.I.T. E.A. Hughes & Co. has in the past few years been named on the Forbes List of Top Executive Recruiters as well Hunt Scanlon’s list of Top 60 Search Firms. In November 2018, E.A. Hughes & Co. was acquired by Solomon Page, a specialty niche provider of staffing and executive search services organized across a variety of functions and industries.