our team @ vp usa

Yesterday was a special day at vente-privee, as we celebrated the birthday of our VP of Tech, Nic. Everyone knows Nic is a Star Wars fanatic, but nobody knows better than the rest of his tech team. Below, tech team member Gui shares some other fun facts about Nic that not everyone may know.

“Every day there’s a swooshing sound when Nic is ready to leave the office. It’s his red lightsaber. Nic started life with 9 souls, he has 7 souls left. He sold one of his souls to the dark side and got a lightsaber out of it. Don’t ask about the other soul. Other fun facts about Nic:

• He doesn’t drink coffee, but he drinks hot chocolates like water.
• The power supply for his laptop is bigger than a Macbook Pro, and he needs a wheeled cart to transport it.
• After hours, he frequently blasts Yanni and Beethoven.
• His favorite sayings are: ‘We are a startup!’ and ‘We do this in real time!’

              

Gui isn’t joking about the lightsaber. Here’s just a sample of Nic’s Star Wars paraphernalia collection. 

Every day in the Financial District, businessmen can be seen carrying briefcases to work. But, last Thursday, vente-privee’s Antoine ventured uptown and returned to the office with a peculiar kind of case: the White Castle “Crave Case.” What occasion warranted this tasty treat? Our weekly all-hands meeting, of course! Every Thursday, a different vp department hosts this company-wide gathering. Creativity is encouraged, and often times refreshments are selected in accordance with a particular theme. With the Fourth of July right around the corner, the CX team chose to spark excitement with a patriotic palette. Some people were thrilled about the White Castle sliders, while others were thankful for the holiday barbecues yet to be had. Nevertheless, everyone had a blast!

vente-privee recently celebrated the birthday of Sydney, one of our Customer Experience whizzes. In the toast that follows - albeit slightly “roasty” - fellow CX extraordinaire Kristen shares her insight into Sydney’s colorful character…

“Sydney is a tiny ball of brightness that radiates from the CX section — on the days she wears her gold sandals and armful of gold bangles, she shines even brighter! Only Sydney could have a man change his commute because she politely declined his invitation to dinner. Only Sydney can remember and answer to all the nicknames she has been given since her first day (i.e., ‘Hey Sydface! Spicy Icy! Sanswering Salls Sydney! SUUUUPIIIII!’). Interested in learning how to make the most delicious smushed bean burrito? Ask Syd for “her” secret recipe. No one is more amazed by time passing than this recent Temple University grad, who often exclaims, ‘Oh my gosh, is it 11 AM already?’. Equal parts talented and fun, Sydney can light up any room.”

And now, a Q&A with the birthday girl herself!

Q: If you could only stock your fridge with one food item for the rest of the year, what would it be?

A: “I’m gonna have to say…I need buffalo sauce. I need it on a lot of things. I definitely need buffalo sauce.”

Q: If you had a soundtrack to your life what would it be?

A: Love Today by Mika

Q: What’s your favorite part about working at vente-privee?

A: “The wonderful people that I work with every day. We have a fabulous time. Everyone is just really thoughtful and caring, and I feel like I’ve made really good friends even though everyone is always working really hard.”

Q: Who is your style inspiration?

A: “I’m obsessed with Miroslava Duma, the editor for Harper’s Bazaar in Russia. She’s amazing. Her style is fabulous.”

Q: Who is your favorite Disney princess and why?

“This isn’t a princess but my favorite Disney character is Nala from The Lion King. Why? Because she is a fierce feline. And she is a strong female character in the jungle. If I had to choose a princess it would be Jasmine because she has great fashion sense – love the turquoise – and who wouldn’t want to be swept away on a magic carpet?!”

Q: What is your favorite quote?

A: “‘The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.’ - Coco Chanel”

The à la mode spirit of the brands featured on venteprivee.com is often embraced by our employees through their personal wardrobe choices. Over the past week, some of our employees took the neoteric neon trend into their own hands… and feet. Kick-starting summer with vibrant hues, these mademoiselles brought bursts of brightness from the outdoors into the office.

Ashlee rocked sky-high, neon pink, open-toed stilettos. 

Margaux toted a monogrammed neon yellow Cambridge Satchel and matching sandals.

On venteprivee.com, we take the sweat out of shopping online. But offline, our vente-privee team members will gladly work up a sweat to support a great cause.  Forty of our employees took to the Financial District streets on May 31 to participate in the 5K American Heart Association Wall Street Run and Heart Walk.  The girls traded in their fashionable footwear for equally stylish sneakers, and the guys showed off their newest, and freshest, kicks. Whether they walked, ran, or cheered on their co-workers, our employees  raised approximately $2000 in total. Outstanding job, team!

The participants flaunt their vp pride in matching T-shirts.

Our enthusiastic vp runners prep for the event,  with warm ups ranging from hand signals to hamstring stretches.

From unfettered fashionistas to down-home dads, vente-privee employees are an eclectic crew. This week, in the spirit of Father’s Day, we want to give a special shout out to the vp Dads! They give us their all at work, and as you’re about to find out, never miss the chance to have fun with their kids. Thanks, fellas, for your hard work both in the office and at home!

                                                     Nic (our VP Tech) and his kids

                      Our Director of Recruitment, Drew, has two little recruiters…

Dan—our director of logistics—spends equal time with each of his three sons individually in what they have come to refer to as “special time.” It turns out that their special time requests are often the same, as all 3 boys play lacrosse, football, basketball and most recently, golf. Consequently, Dan gets a triple dose of all four sports in a row. Who needs a gym membership when you have 3 athletic sons?

Hugh, one of our software engineers, also has a son who may be an aspiring athlete. At only 9 months old, he can’t say much, but one of the few things he has said is “Hedo Turkoglu,” the name of an Orlando Magic basketball player from Turkey. Hugh suspects it was unintentional… but was it?!

Next we have another one of our tech guys, Gui, and no, his son is not sprouting antlers. What you see below is the shadow of his son proudly clad in a raccoon hat. Believe it or not, he was only 16 months old when this picture was taken, but his shadow makes him look deceivingly tall. Shadow or no shadow, Gui predicts that his little guy will in fact be taller than him one day.

Chris Hughes, our general counsel, doesn’t question how tall his children will be, as they are already grown. The photograph below shows the beginning of their adventures on their first day of school, taken where the driveway meets the road. Each one has since pursued a unique path of his or her own. Left to right - Anna works in an art gallery in Stamford, Connecticut. Alice just finished her first year of medical school in Philadelphia. Jake teaches English literature at Penn State and, while not busy reading beer bottle labels, is working on his PhD. Julia works for an internet marketing firm in the City, but wants to bartend and write about her experiences. Emily teaches third grade in Westport, Connecticut. By Chris’ recollection, his children were never afraid to go down that road because Mom and Dad were always awaiting their return. To this day, Chris still eagerly anticipates their arrival in the driveway.

By Christopher Poulos

Here at vpUSA, we highly value a trait we call Entrepreneurial Leadership.  It is one of the hallmarks of our company culture.  Chris Poulos, an Ambassador with an impressive entrepreneurial background, sheds some very eloquent light on what entrepreneurial leadership really is, and what it means to vpUSA employees… Thanks Chris!