American Apparel & Footwear Association

J Nicholas Hahn is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of HAHN INTERNATIONAL, LTD. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio-USA, Mr. Hahn began his career with Colonial Woolen Mills, Inc. as the third generation of Hahn's employed by this family-owned company. He joined Dan River Mills in 1964 and began his career with Cotton Incorporated in 1971 as Western Regional Manager in Los Angeles. Hahn also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer and was elected President & CEO in 1982 until 1997 when he stepped down to found Hahn International, Ltd... Based in Cotton Incorporated's New York world headquarters, Hahn managed the company's global research and promotion program conducted through offices in Basil Switzerland, Osaka Japan, Singapore, Shanghai China, Mexico City, Los Angeles Calif, Dallas Texas, Atlanta Georgia and their research center in Raleigh North Carolina. Hahn traveled extensively throughout the world working with customers of US cotton fiber and interacting with local industry and government agencies as appropriate. Hahn International, Ltd. is a global business advisory and consulting firm working with a variety of international clients within the textile fiber, fabric, apparel and related industries. Hahn holds several directorships, including those of the International Apparel Federation (London England), International Textile Manufacturers Federation (Zurich, Switzerland), and Harriett & Henderson Yarns, Inc. (Henderson, North Carolina). He is also an associate member of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute (Washington, DC) and The American Apparel & Footwear Association (Washington, DC). Hahn is Vice Chairman of the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), has served as Chairman of the Outward Bound USA benefit dinner and is a founder of the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was honored twice by Textile World Magazine as one of the top 25 leaders in the US Textile industry for the last 25 years and subsequently for the last half century. Hahn has been an active member of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Educated at the University of Notre Dame, Hahn successfully completed the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Agribusiness Seminar in London, England in 1997. The Hahn's belong to the Weeburn Country Club-Darien and the Union League Club-New York City.

A TrueExpert in the area of mass customization, Karla is an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the Textile and Apparel Management Department. She received her PhD in textile and apparel technology and management at North Carolina State University. Her research interests include three-dimensional body scanning, fit and sizing issues related to scanning. Karla took a lead role in SizeUSA, the National Sizing Study that was conducted, in part, at the University of Missouri. She has also conducted studies on product development, mass customization, Quick Response systems, digital printing, and computer-aided design. Her research has been presented internationally in England, Korea, Egypt, Australia, and Hong Kong. Karla is a member of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, International Textile Apparel Association, the Textile Institute, the Alabama Textile Manufacturers Association, and ASTM International. She has received various scholarly and professional awards including the Outstanding Faculty Award and the Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation Faculty Fellowship.