Monday was the first day of the rest of Neil Cole’s life — and the brand management pioneer is now plotting a comeback.

An appeals court vacated Cole’s conviction for securities fraud, capping an arduous 10-year legal battle that began when he was chief executive officer of Iconix Brand Group .

Along the way Cole — who’s credited with creating the brand management business model — lost the top job at the company he founded. He was accused by a former colleague of cooking the books to inflate revenues at the publicly traded Iconix.

Cole was tried in 2021, partially acquitted and tried again the following year, convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was out on bail while pursuing the appeal he ultimately won on Monday.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled

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