GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 61
Kim
Biehl
Vice President/General Manager,
Neiman Marcus, Tampa
Kim Biehl, 50, is one of the most visible faces in Tampa's
Neiman Marcus. With a hearty laugh and a passion for
exemplary customer service, she is often seen walking the
floors, helping associates and interacting with customers.
Associates and managers credit Biehl as a role model and
mentor who helped shape their careers in retail.
Biehl, who started work ing for Neiman
Marcus at the age of 22, has risen
through the ranks of the 108-year old
company. While designers carr y the
creative end of the fashion industr y, Biehl
learned quick ly how to balance her flair
for fashion with sav v y business sk ills.
She's also k nown as a compassionate
leader and mentor among her 130
associates and employees in the store.
e threads of Neiman Marcus run deep
in Biehl 's life, she even met her husband,
James Hossmark, while work ing: she
was the men's manager while he worked
as the precious jewelr y manager. e
couple now have a 13-year-old daughter,
Elizabeth Hossmark and Biehl is also
a step mother to James' daughter
Christine. In this inter view with
GV ITAS, Biehl shares how tak ing
risks early in her career lead to her rise in
management and how her mentors and
late sister played a strong role in shaping
her life.
When did your love of fashion take
shape?
As a theater major, I began expressing
myself through fashion, maybe
subconsciously, at first, but later,
consciously. My mother would tell you
that we would go to Puerto Vallarta
during the holidays and I would be the
only person wearing a black dress on
the beach. In college, the other students
were ver y preppy but I would wear Jim
Morrison t-shirts and ripped jeans. I was
mak ing my own statement.
How did you get hired at Neiman
Marcus?
I was hired aer college at Neiman
Marcus in New port Beach, California
when I was only 22 years old. My fashion
sense was evolving and I was gaining
an appreciation for fabrication and the
difference in apparel that was made well.
I became the assistant manager of what
was then called Leisure Sportswear.
Continued page 62
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