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R. Brad Martin is Chairman of RBM Venture Company his private family office.
Martin retired on May 4 2007 as Chairman of the Board of Saks Incorporated after serving nearly 20 years as an executive with that firm. Martin was the principal investor in RBM Acquisition Company an entity he formed in October 1984 to acquire Saks' predecessor business Proffitt's Inc. Martin became the Chief Executive Officer of the company in 1989 when it was comprised of ten stores with annual revenues of approximately $70 million. Over the subsequent ten years Proffitt's grew to become one of the largest department store businesses in the United States generating revenues in excess of $4 billion. In 1998 Proffitt's acquired Saks Holdings and merged it into Proffitt's renaming the combined enterprise Saks Incorporated. In 2005 and 2006 recognizing the continuing consolidation of the mid-range department store business and the extraordinary growth prospects of the luxury retail segment Martin developed and oversaw a strategy of divesting the traditional department store assets returning over $2 billion to shareholders through a series of transactions. During the 18-year period when Martin served as CEO and then Chairman of Proffitt's/Saks the value of its stock increased more than 12-fold.
Martin has also engaged in a number of other entrepreneurial and private equity activities. In 1987 he co-founded Corporate Child Care Inc. which subsequently evolved into the largest corporate-affiliated child care company in the United States. Martin currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of four public companies--First Horizon National Corporation where he also serves as a member of its Executive Committee; Harrah's Entertainment Inc. where he co-chaired the Special Committee formed to oversee the process which led to Harrah's agreeing to be acquired in a $24 billion value transaction; Gaylord Entertainment Inc.; and Lululemon Athletica. Martin also serves as a director of one private company--Pilot Travel Centers LLC a $10 billion interstate retailer of petroleum restaurant and general merchandise products. | 