What is a piece of career advice that you got that stuck with you?

I have a few of those. First, one has been guiding me for quite some time and I use it a lot because it helps anchor my beliefs. It is – be brave enough to suck at something new. Being in your comfort zone is great. It makes you feel in charge and makes you feel like you have your career under control. But it also holds you back from growing. So for me being able to admit that you suck at something that’s new for you is great because really it forces you to find the next chapter. I try to constantly be surrounded by people that are way smarter than I am and have different skill sets than myself. It has helped me in my career – coming from supply chain and going into technology. I really believe strongly that the future really belongs to people that learn skills and combine them in creative ways. 

I also come back to this one every single day in my career and I have to remind myself because I do that quite a lot – don’t ever compare your weaknesses to another person’s strength. You can only lose. It happens so often where you feel like you’re in situations and you think to yourself, I wish I would be better at this. Why is this person so good at that? The second you go down that road, you diminish your own achievements. Then it can only backfire. 

Who are people that have been good mentors to you or people around you that inspire you to be better?

In my past job at PVH, I had a manager and a mentor, David Kroll, that did, in my opinion, everything right or everything that fosters growth. His feedback was always – you own your own business, I’ll support you when you need me. I think most people don’t require any additional motivation when you can inspire them to want to achieve and not let their manager down. If you have to push or force someone to do something, then I think you’re not giving them enough space or you’re not having them do the right work.

What were the times in your life that were career defining?

I grew up and went to school and started my career in Germany. After three or four years there, I made the move to the US. And so my career background or history in Germany did not really matter when I moved here. Despite that I was really lucky enough to land a job at Ralph Lauren in a US company, in a different work environment. I learned a ton through that as I came here in the early first half of my career and kept my job through the financial crisis. That showed me I can do it.

The second one was my switch from supply chain, production and sourcing to technology that happened at PVH. I inserted myself in leadership conversations, highlighting technology opportunities and was very persistent. I also had a manager that allowed me to stretch, supported me and helped open doors which led to a leadership role in digital innovation at PVH.

How do you stay productive during the day?

There are no times where I’m more productive than others. Spurs of productivity can happen any time and anywhere. Work isn’t defined by day, hour, or location. Oftentimes I come up with ideas and concepts and a solution to a problem when I’m not at work. I make the effort to document that with notes, emailing myself sometimes. When thoughts shape in my head, I prefer to document it right away.

I’m a big proponent of flexible working models. because I feel like you can’t pigeon hole someone into a daytime or location to be productive and deliver. I learned that early on when I worked at the GAP 10 or 15 years ago. They had a work environment that was called results only work environment and it really highlighted that you can deliver value work wherever you are and whenever you want.

What do you do in your downtime?

I enjoy being outside. I’m really an avid hiker. It clears my mind, allows me to fully be disconnected. But honestly, the same goes for exercise. It really builds mental perseverance and tenacity. When I work out or when I’m outside for me it’s like one step after the next. I really feel it helped me a lot at work in difficult situations where it’s easy to give up and I think I’m just going to get through this one step at a time. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

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