Richard E. Goldman

Richard E. Goldman (Richie) was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and attended MMI Prep for secondary school.  He graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and a minor in Marketing. 

In 1973, he moved to Houston and was hired by George Zimmer to manage the first (and only at that time) Men’s Wearhouse store.  He purchased stock from Zimmer in that first store and proceeded to work at the company until January of 2002.  He is widely recognized as the marketing mastermind of the company, from his insistence on using TV as the main form of advertising as far back as 1975, to his careful nurturing and managing of the MW brand and image as the company expanded from one part of the country to another and expanded the base of the business through acquisitions. 

In 2002, he worked on the Mayoral campaign of then City Councilman Gavin Newson and has worked on his subsequent Mayoral and Gubernatorial campaigns.  He was on the Board of Project Homeless Connect from 2004-2006.  PHC was a very successful San Francisco program designed to help the city’s homeless find healthcare services, food, shelter, and clothing.  

In January of 2009, Richie released his book, Luck by Design Certain Success in an Uncertain World. The book, aimed at the children of Baby Boomers, received praise from educators, fellow authors, and reviewers. It won “Best General Non-Fiction” at the San Francisco Book Festival in 2009 and was a Finalist in the Self-Help: Motivational category at the National Best Books 2009.  

In 2015 Richie was the Executive Producer of the documentary short film, “Riding My Way Back,” which detailed the use of equine-assisted care for soldiers returning from the Middle East with PTSD. 

From 2011-2017 Richie was the founder and Managing Director of Hatch-Today, a co-working venture in San Francisco.  The business was sold in 2017 

Richie has worked as an advisor to several retail and consumer-facing companies over the past 20 years and is currently an advisor to a small VC firm in San Francisco. 

He has served on the boards of several educational institutions, including Mills College, Rutgers College, and the Jewish Community High School of the Bay Area. From 2019-2023 he was the Board Chair at San Domenico School, in San Anselmo, CA. 

He is currently a California Commissioner, around volunteerism, working with Josh Fryday, the Chief Volunteer Officer of California.  (calvolunteers.ca.gov)  

He launched a column on Substack, called Curmudg, in April of 2025.