I feel so fortunate because I’ve worked for incredible role models who I credit for my success as a leader. My first boss at Donna Karan, Betsy Grass, who is such a thoughtful leader, was my first introduction to the retail industry. She was the first person to introduce to me the concept of people working hard for people and always made sure to invest not only in my career, but in me. It’s because she helped me to build my confidence that I was able to take a leap of faith and join a newborn company with a team of four young entrepreneurs – Kate Spade, Andy Spade, Elyce Arons, and Pamela Bell – on a mission to disrupt the handbag industry in new, creative ways.
Working for Kate Spade, which was at the time a small, entrepreneurial startup hungry for growth, I was exposed to many different aspects of the business which helped me to grow my skills as a leader across departments. The founders were great people managers who taught me that people are what make a company successful.
From there, I earned the opportunity to work for Burberry at a time when Rose Marie Bravo and Eugenia Ulasewicz were reinvigorating the brand. Both were kind and effective leaders with incredible vision and understanding about how to put the right people together to make something magical.
At Frances Valentine, because I was working with people I already knew I loved working with, I was focused on how I could learn more about the industry itself. What I learned is that fashion and retail are more than just what you wear and how you dress. It’s about finding the joy in what you wear.
That’s how I landed at Rowan, where I’ve been able to translate what I know about the importance of people and finding joy in self expression to a new industry – ear piercing!