Jon Nordmark

Hometown: Westminster, Colorado Education: University of Colorado, BS, Magna Cum Laude Experience: President CEO, since 1998 Senior Marketing Director, Samsonite Americas Product Management Director, Samsonite USA Samsonite (11 years total) Why @ eBags: I became a "bag expert" at Samsonite. There, my teams worked on more than 20 distribution channels, and I managed design direction, presentations, pricing, PL's, and forecasts for more than 1,500 products. As the Internet began expanding, I knew the world was facing radical change. Rejoining some of my all-time favorite workmates and helping to change the world's shopping habits -- via more convenience, better information and outstanding values -- excites me! So yes, having 11 years of relevant bag and retail experience is important. But I am really at eBags because of belief and determination. I am thankful to have grown up in a great family and to have great friends. They inspired me to follow dreams. They also taught me to value relationships with people. To get great satisfaction in life, you need to create good things "with" and "for" other people. Throughout my life, certain core values have proven to work. To (1) believe, (2) remain positive, (3) focus and (4) work hard no matter what. In high school, I left home to play Junior A hockey. After eight grueling months, my team won a national championship. Our team included 19 amazing guys and a fantastic coach who believed, worked hard and treated each other with immense respect. Later, my roommate on that team got cancer three times and lost an eye playing hockey. Yet, today he is a 36-year-old radiology oncologist. To me, he's an incredible inspiration. He always believed in his dreams, remained positive and stayed focused. Another teammate became rookie of the year in the NHL after being ignored at draft eligibility time. He showed me again that good things happen when you believe, remain positive and keep your nose to the grindstone. Starting in mid-1998, the