Michelle Israel

Enthusiast
DISC Type : i

Chief Merchandising Officer at Five Below

New York, New York, United States

Overview

Michelle Israel is the Chief Merchandising Officer at Five Below, bringing over 30 years of retail experience from senior roles at Macys and Bloomingdales. Her expertise spans the full retail spectrum, from luxury to off-price, with a history of full P&L ownership. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Trinity College-Hartford.

Michelle is passionate about brand building and has a particular interest in the home goods category. She is a member of Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB), reflecting an interest in fostering female leadership. As an advisor to various firms, she focuses on unlocking P&L opportunities and driving operational efficiencies.

She recently joined the board of the iconic home goods brand Fishs Eddy to help steer its next chapter.

Personality Overview

Consensus Focused

Story Driven

Amiable & Agreeable

Unlike D or C types, they are convinced more by stories and testimonials.  They prefer to build relationships rather than staying totally transactional. They tend to be agreeable by nature, so take their promises with a pinch of salt.


Topics They Care About

Retail Merchandising
Her entire career is in merchandising, with recent responsibility for planning, product sourcing, and development at Five Below after nearly 35 years in the field at Macy's.
Brand Building
Expressed her love for brand building upon joining the board of Fishs Eddy and acts as a senior strategic advisor to emerging brands.
Value Retailing
Her current role is at value retailer Five Below, and she previously led value-focused brands like Bloomingdale's The Outlet and Macy's Backstage.

Media Appearances

Michelle has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2025
Chief Merchandising Officer at Five Below
5-2025
Member Board of Directors at Fishs Eddy
3-2025
Member at Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB)
9-2024 - 9-2025
Member Board of Directors at Spencer's
1-2023 - 9-2025
Senior Strategic Advisor at Consensus Advisors , AllWork Platform, Emerging Brands

Education

Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity College-Hartford

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 2 Location : New York, New York, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Merchandising Officer at Five Below
URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Michelle

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Give them the opportunity to lead the conversation where possible
  • Ask them how their day is going or exchange some other pleasantries
  • Refer to interesting customer testimonials and stress on great customer experience

DONT's

  • Don’t be excessively objective, be like a storyteller with them
  • Don’t push them for a direct ‘no’, take lack of ‘yes’ as ‘no’ after some time
  • Don’t ask too many questions in one go, weave them into the flow

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Michelle is

  • Relationship and rapport are valuable for them, but so is proven product value.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Michelle

  • They are unlikely to say no directly.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Michelle move?

  • They are not very fast decision makers, even while they continue to stay engaged.
  • Can Michelle take some risk or not?

  • They can take some low-probability risks if needed.

You And Michelle

Personality Compatibility


Other Five Below Employees

Explore more public profiles from related professionals at the same organization.

More Profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Search more profiles

Looking for someone else? Search here for anyone.

Or visit Humantic AI to know more.