Our team

Cadence Fashion

Board of Directors

  • Rubayet Akbar
    Rubayet Akbar
    Founder, Managing Director, Member Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
  • Mikael Hartman
    Mikael Hartman
    Founder, Managing Director and Member of the Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
  • Scott Deitz
    Scott Deitz
    Chair, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors, Lead Investor
  • Thomas Nelson
    Thomas Nelson
    Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors, Lead Investor
  • Claire Teroitin
    Claire Teroitin
    Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
  • Ed Villano
    Ed Villano
    Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
  • Chris Todd
    Chris Todd
    Member Cadence Fashion Board of Directors

Collaborative Advisors

  • Quirijn Biesheuvel
    Quirijn Biesheuvel
    Corporate Legal Advisor, BJTK
  • Anna Hughes
    Anna Hughes
    Special Advisor
  • Chelsea Nelson
    Chelsea Nelson
    Special Advisor
Rubayet Akbar
Founder, Managing Director, Member Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
Mr. Akbar has more than five years of experience in multimodal transport management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering from West Bengal University, India, and a master’s degree in Shipping and Logistics from Newcastle University, United Kingdom. In his master’s thesis, he analyzed the European garment supply chain to highlight how various factors influence landed costs in containerized garment trade between Bangladesh and Europe. After completing his education in the UK, he moved to the Netherlands to join Stolt Tank Containers, a leading chemical transporting firm, as a logistics coordinator.
Mikael Hartman
Founder, Managing Director and Member of the Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
Mr. Hartman has more than eighteen years of combined experience in the insurance and logistics sector. He worked for Nationale Netherlanden, a subsidiary of ING Bank, where he was involved in mapping bottlenecks and optimizing logistics systems. Prior to that he was a logistics operator for P&O and Cosco shipping. Since 2017, he has been successfully running his own entrepreneurial venture in tourism – Bymiktours, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He holds a diploma in logistics and supply chain management from STC, Rotterdam.
Scott Deitz
Chair, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors, Lead Investor
Mr. Deitz has 31 years’ experience as a global business leader working at the convergence of investor relations, communications, reputation management, public affairs, and corporate social responsibility. His purpose-driven approach includes leading and advising teams within global publicly traded companies and advising diverse companies that are leaders in their global sectors. Following successful careers in the global apparel and footwear sector (VF Corporation and Kontoor Brands), communications and investor relations consulting (FleishmanHillard), the building materials and fiberglass reinforcements space (Owens Corning), and the forest products sector (Stora Enso and Consolidated Papers), Scott founded Convene Communication Strategies LLC, an integrated communications, reputation-management and value-creation consultancy positioned to advise senior leaders at global public and private companies, leading communication firms, policymakers, NGOs and educational institutions. Mr. Deitz is a purpose-led leader, advocating to stop gender-based workplace violence around the world and serving on various not-for-profit Boards of Directors working to protect and preserve the planet.
Thomas Nelson
Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors, Lead Investor
Mr. Nelson has 37 years’ experience all in the global apparel sector (VF Corporation), during which he led teams in global supply chain procurement strategy development and implementation, economic analysis, and long-term country-by-country supply agreements. He designed, built and implemented new supply chain concepts, established strong business relationships with governments around the world and has hands-on experience in apparel and footwear engineering, factory management, apparel and footwear distribution, and human resources within various aspects of the apparel and footwear sector. He managed global sourcing offices and managed internal manufacturing at 30 locations, producing 120 million units a year. Mr. Nelson is viewed as a thought leader around the world advocating for and leading by example the development of safe production facilities that feature ever-improving human rights protocols. He lived in Hong Kong for 10 years leading regional apparel and footwear sourcing activities. Mr. Nelson is a proven leader in procurement budgeting, implementation and controls.
Claire Teroitin
Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
Ms. Teroitin is a Senior Finance Executive with 18 years’ international experience including the Bata Group, Coach International/Tapestry, VF Corporation, Wolverine Worldwide, Tetra Pak and BDO International. She is a results-driven finance leader and business partner with demonstrated success in leading profitable growth through strategic vision, execution and collaboration in matrix organizations. Ms. Teroitin has significant experience in apparel, footwear and the luxury sector, including both business-to-business experience and business-to-consumer experience. Her proven core competencies are many, including: strategic planning and forecasting, sales and operations planning, financial business modeling, profit and cash flow improvement, investments and working capital, internal controls and SOX compliance, change management, process improvement, and leadership mentoring. Ms. Teroitin is multi-lingual, is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Master’s Degree in Finance.
Ed Villano
Member, Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
Mr. Villano has 25 years’ multifaceted global business experience, including brand and related work with Proctor and Gamble, Abbott Laboratories and VF Corporation. His experience includes working on some of the world’s most iconic brands, including: Tide, Head and Shoulders, Secret, Old Spice, Safeguard, Herbal Essences, Gillette, Wrangler, Lee, Ensure, Blucerna, and generic medicines, vitamins and vaccines. Mr. Villano’s success includes building brands, building and leading teams in marketing, strategy, sales, and finance in emerging markets (Philippines, Southeast Asia, China, Argentina and Latin America). He holds a Business Administration Degree from the University of the Philippines, College of Business.
Chris Todd
Member Cadence Fashion Board of Directors
Chris is an E-commerce and multi-channel veteran that has served in a variety of roles with sports brands in Europe, Japan and the US since 1998. He built omni-channel businesses for Patagonia, Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes, Nike, Vans, The North Face, TOMs and Karl Lagerfeld. He is currently SVP Digital Commerce for Karl Lagerfeld and based in Amsterdam.
Quirijn Biesheuvel
Corporate Legal Advisor, BJTK
Mr. Biesheuvel is a Dutch corporate lawyer and head of BJTK’s corporate M&A department in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Previously, he was an attorney at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Amsterdam and New York. He advises international and domestic clients on corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and investment rounds. His practice focusses on among others PE/VC investors and the retail and leisure sectors. He is one of the leading Commercial, Corporate and M&A lawyers in the Netherlands (Source: The Legal 500 2020).
Anna Hughes
Special Advisor
Ms. Hughes is a recent graduate from North Carolina State University, United States, receiving her degree from the world’s leading textiles institution; the Wilson College of Textiles. She brings industry knowledge within the areas of textile technology, global sourcing, and consumer insights. She also has previous experience with procurement and data analysis for brands such as OPI, Sally Hansen, and Philosophy. Ms. Hughes has held numerous positions, both internship and leadership roles, during her time in school in order to enhance her professional skill set. Amidst her studies, she was granted the opportunity to attend the University’s campus in Prague.
Chelsea Nelson
Special Advisor
Ms. Nelson has 6 years’ experience in product development and merchandising in apparel and footwear. She helped implement Under Armour’s global merchandising strategy as the company expanded into new markets and distribution channels, fueling a new consumer-centric, data-driven approach to product building in running footwear with a special focus on women’s fit and color application. Ms. Nelson is currently expanding her product expertise into other industries, helping small start-ups with consumer research, sourcing and marketing efforts.