Founders
We founded C/G Brand Advisors to provide seasoned experience and relevant networks to tackle growth obstacles, reach key decision makers, and land valuable retailer partnerships for our clients.
We’re sisters & business partners with experience spanning across several Fortune 500 companies and multiple consumer product categories including apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, kids, and home. We’ve worked with businesses all over the globe.
In addition to working with clients one-on-one, we launched our signature e-courses, Retail Rundown™ and Ready, Set, Wholesale™ to broaden our reach and bring insights, advice, and our process to more brands than ever before.
We are humbled that to date, over two thousand founders, creatives, and entrepreneurs have used our materials to launch and grow their product businesses. We can’t wait to work with you next.
—Rita & Maria Catapano
Maria Catapano
I’m a business strategist & brand advisor that helps refine and scale product businesses. After launching a career in the Buying & Planning offices of Macy’s Inc. where I helped manage a $300M department across 600 stores, I left to lead business development for a family manufacturing business, traveling throughout Asia to source, develop, and manufacture children’s products. I sold products to major retailers all over the world like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Walmart, Target, Amazon, Costco, TJX Stores, and many more.
I help clients with all the inner workings of bringing a product line to market — from designing, merchandising, and pricing, to sourcing, prototyping, and manufacturing. I am an expert in building long-term partnerships with retailers, knowing when and how to craft product pitches that meet their business needs. I have built and managed several multi-million dollar private label programs and helped countless startup brands land their products in their dream stores. I know what it takes to build a wholesale business in tandem to running a D2C business, and that experience is what I strive to bring to each of our clients.
-Maria
Rita Catapano
I am an strategist, problem solver, and overall wearer of many hats. Most recently, I helped launch YEEZY GAP, a brand that delivered the most sales by an item in a single day in Gap.com history. I played a critical role in the execution of the brand, from tech to packaging to fulfillment operations.
I’ve led strategy for large ecommerce businesses and facilitated the development and syndication of best-practice playbooks. My career has taken me from Macy’s Inc. to Gap North America + Gap worldwide, working hand-in-hand with corporations like Amazon. What I do best is aligning internal and external stakeholders, driving deal negotiations, and managing key partnerships to drive growth.
I am a creative at heart who has a proven track record of achieving results, driving growth, and executing strategic initiatives across various industries. I work with our clients to formalize processes and plan for scale.
-Rita