Jee Bai
Biography
Jee Bai is a senior retail executive with extensive experience leading sales strategy, business development, merchandising, brand partnerships, and growth across major U.S. retail channels. Alongside her work at FIT, Bai serves as a senior vice president at Idea Nuova, a leading home furnishings and lifestyle company. In her executive role, she leads strategic sales initiatives, develops growth opportunities, and works closely with major retailers, brand partners, product teams, and senior leadership to build meaningful and commercially successful businesses. Her career has given her a broad perspective across mass retail, club, department store, off-price, specialty, and e-commerce channels. She has worked across the full product lifecycle, from identifying consumer and market opportunities to product development, merchandising, assortment strategy, brand positioning, negotiation, and execution at retail.
Bai is particularly passionate about the intersection of consumer behavior, product, brand, and commerce. She believes the strongest businesses are built by understanding not only what consumers want, but why they want it, how they shop, and how brands and retailers can create lasting relevance. That same perspective shapes her approach to teaching. She brings real-world business experiences into the classroom and encourages students to look beyond textbooks and think critically about how decisions are made in the industry. She enjoys creating an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, challenging ideas, and developing their own point of view.
For Bai, teaching is also a way to give back to an industry that has shaped much of her career. She values the opportunity to share both successes and lessons learned, while helping students build confidence, commercial judgment, curiosity, and a strong understanding of the consumer. Her goal is for students to leave the classroom not only with stronger industry knowledge, but also with the confidence to contribute, make thoughtful decisions, and build meaningful careers in the evolving fashion and retail landscape.
Courses
- FM 204 Innovation in Product Development