Steve Ross earned his reputation as an elite brand-builder and thought-leader by driving business transformation in the consumer products licensing sector; he is proven in his ability to grow audiences, revenue streams and operating profits throughout a laudable career creating enterprise value as a champion for collaboration in the workplace. At Hearst, Ross served as the first-ever Chief Licensing Officer, leading both brand development and the consumer products licensing business. In this role, he headed a global team that created strategic best-in-class partnerships across all markets, categories, and channels of distribution giving life to Hearst’s iconic lifestyle magazine brands and content through high-quality and innovative products and experiences. Ross presided over a five-year period of sustained growth as fiscal revenue, profits and cash flow soared under his watch. Hearst more than tripled its worldwide consumer product retail sales to $350 million in licensed branded merchandise throughout his tenure.A former Ad Age Marketer of the Year, Ross has held ascending upper management positions with a focus on inter-departmental collaboration at Mattel, News Corp., 20th Century Fox and the FOX Networks Group (including Fox Sports) where, overseeing ad solutions to support $1.8 billion in Upfront sales, his group helped create the Clio Award-winning integrated campaign that embedded Pepsi products into a multi-episode plotline of the popular drama “Empire” culminating in a headline-generating TV commercial directed by the show's creator, Lee Daniels.Previously, as worldwide president of Fox Licensing & Merchandising, Ross’ holistic approach to building entertainment lifestyle brands helped shape consumer products for some of the studio’s all-time most successful and beloved television and feature film franchises including: the Simpsons, Family Guy, American Idol, Star Wars, Titanic, Alien, Anastasia and Ice Age. Ross was graduated with honors from the University of Southern California where he maintains strong ties. He brings his accomplished advisory services and expertise to House of Victory™, an alumni-led and board-operated nonprofit collective, by helping to guide its mission to empower U.S.C. student-athletes to become the leaders through name, image, and likeness personal branding opportunities. In addition, Ross consults for media companies, tech start-ups, agencies and non-profits on growth strategy to accelerate profits, boost brand equity and optimize business development opportunities.