Michael Stone's Email & Phone

Michael Stone is an internationally recognized expert in licensing and branding. Currently, Stone serves as president and chief executive officer of Beanstalk, the world's largest licensing consultancy and part of the Diversified Agency Services division of Omnicom Group. Stone co-founded Beanstalk in 1992. Under Stone's leadership the agency has grown to just under 100 employees with offices around the world. Since 1984, Stone has been a pioneer in all facets of licensing, including brand extension programs for major multinational corporations, celebrities, sports, and entertainment properties, as well as retail exclusive programs devoted to specific licensed properties. Stone has served as the licensing adviser or agent for past clients such as McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Lego, Hershey Foods, Campbell Soup, Schering-Plough, the United States Olympic Committee, and the U.S. Tennis Open Championships among others. From 1992 through 2002 he spearheaded the European licensing program for The Coca-Cola Company, having worked on the Company's licensing program in the U.S. from the mid-1980's. Under Stone's leadership, Beanstalk has been responsible for some of the most successful licensing programs of all time, including programs for all of the brands of the Ford Motor Company, Harley-Davidson, AT&T, The Stanley Works, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, and The Andy Warhol Foundation. In addition, he and his team conceived and implemented the ground-breaking and highly successful Mary-Kate and Ashley global fashion and lifestyle program, which achieved over a billion dollars in worldwide retail sales. In addition, Beanstalk represents many other world famous clients, such as Purina, Procter & Gamble, HGTV, and Jack Daniel's, among others. Stone is also the inspiration for many of Beanstalk's corporate initiatives. He has been instrumental in the development and implementation of several philanthropic programs at the agency, including the Beanstalk Hands-On Volunteer Program and Beanstalk Charities, a fund for charitable donations which, in 2010, focuses on Soho Partnerships and Yorkville Common Pantry, local NYC charities. Most recently, Stone implemented a companywide Green Initiative? designed to reduce waste, conserve energy and ultimately make Beanstalk a more environmentally conscious organization, thereby reducing its carbon footprint. An authority on licensing, Stone and Beanstalk are credited by many for driving the evolution of licensing from primarily a toys and entertainment marketing tool to a highly effective corporate branding tool for Fortune 100 companies. He is frequently called upon as an industry expert and has been quoted in Brandweek, Advertising Age, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and many other top business and consumer publications. Additionally, Stone and his agency have received accolades fourteen times from the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association by receiving the LIMA Award for Excellence and have been nominated for an additional 35 awards. Stone also received the advertising industry Clio Award twice for excellence in the use of licensing in a national trade promotion and in an advertising campaign. Stone graduated from Hamilton College, where he currently serves on the Hamilton College Visibility Committee, and the Emory University School of Law. Mr. Stone began his legal career as a law clerk for a United States District Court judge and then practiced law with a leading intellectual property law firm in New York City prior to embarking upon his career in licensing representation.