With over 30 years of experience in the retail industry, Lee Cote partners with firms to create solutions while protecting retailers’ brands. She develops asset management strategies to increase profitability through various means such as store openings, closing and relocations as well as clearance events both online and in-store. Lee serves as Senior Merchant for a variety of retail sectors, with a focus on department and specialty stores. Lee works closely with Gordon Brothers’ field consultants to direct strategies to maximize recovery, establish best practices for store operations and enhance morale for store-level associates. Additionally, she serves as one of Gordon Brothers’ retail experts and signs off on all appraisals within her area of concentration. Before joining Gordon Brothers in 1997, Lee spent almost 20 years holding various roles in department stores based in the midwest and owned a small boutique apparel store in CA. Lee is a current member of the Advisory Board for the Terry Lundgren Center of Retailing at the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.