hofstra-university
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Ira Birns and the value of saying no
Before he became CEO of World Kinect, Ira Birns learned to turn down business that tied up too much cash. His route from a Long Island coin business to global fuel distribution is a story about choosing what deserves a yes.
Roy Carmo Salsinha and the art of the introduction
His parents backed the beginning. He built a career arranging what comes next: a conversation between people who have a reason to meet.
Krista Mullen
Krista Fraioli Mullen is Chief Marketing Officer of Eleventy USA, LLC, the New York arm of the Milan-founded 'smart luxury' label Eleventy. She spent more than a decade at Harry Winston, climbing from US marketing coordinator to Director of US Marketing & Public Relations, learning to sell objects whose price is rarely printed. Educated in public relations at Hofstra University, she began her career in business development at Tangram International Exhibitions before moving into jewelry. At Eleventy she works on the American side of a brand that counts the United States as its largest market, roughly 45 percent of a business that reached about 125 million euros in 2025. Her public footprint is deliberately thin: one LinkedIn profile, no personal Instagram, no manifesto. In an industry that mistakes volume for influence, that is its own kind of statement.