Dave Jones will deliver the opening keynote at the conference and networking event.

Dave Jones, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the brand management company Iconix Brand Group, will give the opening keynote on the first day of the NYC Licensing Summit, taking place March 2-3 at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Iconix is the fourth largest licensor in the world, according to License Global’s annual Top 150 Global Licensors report, with $13 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise worldwide in 2015.

The company owns more than 30 brands across fashion, home and entertainment including Mossimo, Candie’s, Umbro, Lee Cooper, Ed Hardy and Joe Boxer. Globally, the company has more than 50 direct-to-retail licenses and more than 1,700 total licenses. 

At the NYC Licensing Summit, Jones will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the “new” Iconix, discussing how the company is evolving under its new executive team and exploring the changing dynamics of the retail marketplace. 

The news of Jones’ engagement at the NYC Summit comes just a day after it was reported that Iconix is exploring selling one of its major assets, Peanuts Worldwide, home of iconic characters such as Snoopy and Charlie Brown, as well as another classic character brand that it owns–Strawberry Shortcake. In 2015, Peanuts was Iconix's largest brand in terms of licensing revenue, due in part to the release of The Peanuts Movie. Read the full story here.

Jones joins a speaker lineup that includes top thought leaders of the brand licensing industry including executives from A+E Networks, Activision Blizzard Media Networks, Cartoon Network Enterprises, Epic Rights, Head Sport, Macy’s Parade, Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, PepsiCo North America, PVH Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Stanley Black & Decker, Wunderlich Securities and Xcel Brands. Also announced Monday was the addition of actress and entrepreneur Drew Barrymore, who will offer first-hand insights into the world of celebrity licensing alongside Perry Wolfman from her brand management agency CAA-GBG.

Space is limited and last year's event sold out, so interested parties are encouraged to secure tickets early. 

For the full agenda and to buy tickets, visit www.licensemag.com/nyc-summit.

The NYC Summit is developed by License Global magazine, part of UBM's Global Licensing Group, also organizers of Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe, and in partnership with the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), the industry’s leading trade organization. This year's sponsors include Platinum Sponsor Concept One Accessories and Silver Sponsors Uwär? Brands and Octane5 with additional sponsorship support from FABNY, Trevco, OpSec Security and the Boy Scouts of America.