Dana Perlman, BBA ’02: From the Sales Floor to the C-Suite

An unexpected passion for business

From a young age, Perlman knew two things to be true: that she would go to the University of Michigan, and that she would almost certainly become a lawyer. As the daughter of two U-M alum attorneys, she said there “was never any question that she would go to Michigan.”

And Perlman did attend U-M for her undergraduate degree, where she joined the Ross School of Business as a BBA in her third year. As she prepared to take her LSAT to continue on her planned path to law school, however, Perlman made a discovery that she didn’t expect: she liked investment banking.

“The truth is, I kind of fell into it. I didn’t know what investment banking really was until I actually explored it for my internship during my time at Michigan Ross,” Perlman said. “During that summer, I learned a lot about it and realized that I was much more interested in being part of deals than covering clients. I loved the balance in investment banking of giving advice like a lawyer, selling different products, and the financial fluency required to figure out what you were trying to put together.”

From selling clothes on campus to managing leading fashion brands

After making this discovery, Perlman changed course and decided to lean into what she loved and give business a try. After graduating from Michigan Ross, she landed her first job out of school at Credit Suisse First Boston, where she worked as an analyst in the investment banking retail group.

“Products are tangible, so choosing the retail group made sense to me. I had been a sales associate at Saks Fifth Avenue and the Urban Outfitters on campus at U-M, so I thought, you know what? This will be great,” she said. “When I got started at Credit Suisse First Boston, the retail group was the best in the industry, so I knew I was going to get a lot of exposure and opportunities to do deals. As I was starting, my mom told me something that stuck with me, which was that instead of paying to go to school, as a junior banker, I was now being paid to learn.”

And Perlman learned quickly. Over the next nine years of her career, she handled major deals for high-profile retail clients while at Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, and Barclays. Then, with nearly a decade of investment banking experience, she decided to explore a new direction that brought her career aspirations full circle.

In 2011, Perlman joined PVH Corp., the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, as treasurer, business development and investor relations, and later chief strategy officer. As one of her former clients, Perlman understood the company’s business well. Coming into a corporate role from investment banking, however, she knew she would need to rely on some of the broad business skills she learned at Michigan Ross to make the pivot.

“In banking, you're giving support to a bunch of different companies. What I really wanted to do next, and see the impact of, was help one company specifically achieve the goals that they were trying to accomplish from a strategy perspective,” Perlman explained. “I really focused on leveraging my investment banking skills and what I learned at Ross to apply that.”

Perlman’s blend of investment banking experience and a broad business foundation paved the way for her success at PVH, where she partnered with senior leaders to help grow the company into a global enterprise. Helping manage iconic brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, she had come a long way from her days working in retail on the U-M campus.

The next chapter at G-III Apparel

After more than 11 years at PVH, Perlman eventually moved on to her current role as the chief growth and operations officer at G-III Apparel, a fashion company that owns brands like DKNY and Karl Lagerfeld. In addition, she also serves on the board of O’Reilly Auto Parts, a role she’s held since 2017. With a wealth of knowledge spanning the fashion industry from her time at PVH and the investment banking and business fundamentals, her multidisciplinary background has been highly useful.

“At G-III today, I oversee all of the operations area, from IT to logistics and distribution to our international operations, as well as our overall strategy team, communications, and a good chunk of the finance area,” Perlman said. 

“I would say a benefit of my U-M education is that it was well-rounded and exposed me to many different ways of thinking and solving problems. So I think that has given me the benefit of really understanding what I’m trying to deliver and of ensuring we’ve got the right people in the right place to get things done.”

The work ahead

Perlman’s advice to current students and recent Ross alums interested in a career like hers is simple: you don’t have to have it all figured out, but you do have to keep learning.

“Someone once gave me good advice, which is that if you’re trying to grow but you’re not learning something new every day, you probably shouldn’t be doing what you're doing,” Perlman said. 

As for what’s next, Perlman sees plenty of room to continue growing in her career, but noted that her greatest focus is on her young son, Max, as well as on giving back to her community. She hopes to stay closely connected to the U-M network and share her perspective with future leaders at events like the Michigan Fashion Media Summit. 

Perlman also explained she is committed to supporting her hometown community, particularly through the Dee Dee and Michael Perlman Caregivers Fund, which she founded with her brother to support caregivers of loved ones with dementia — a cause deeply personal to her after serving as a caregiver for her father.

Perlman made her philosophy clear: success isn’t defined by a single path, but rather a willingness to keep growing and use that growth to make a positive difference.

BBA Program Alumni Resources