Retail Guru Laura Ravo: "You Can Be Fierce and Kind" as a Leader
Welcome to Women in Retail Talks! We’ve updated our format to better serve the wants and needs of our community. Our refreshed podcast will feature in-depth interviews with female C-suite executives from enterprise retail organizations who defined their own career success and made their way to the metaphorical corner office. The episodes will include stories of professional growth, leadership development, personal journeys, and more. Every other Wednesday, you’ll get real advice and valuable lessons from powerhouse women across the industry. We hope you enjoy our show, and we welcome your feedback!
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Laura Ravo, chief operating officer of Strand Book Store, the New York City heritage community bookstore. She’s also a Women in Retail Leadership Circle member! Listen in as Ravo discusses how she got her start in the retail industry (2:38), what she loves about working in retail (3:42), and what she enjoys about her current position at Strand (5:27).
In addition, Ravo shares her journey to authoring her new book, “The Power of Grit & Grace,” during the pandemic (7:44), why both grit and grace are important leadership qualities (9:49), and examples of when she’s used these skills throughout her career (11:15). Lastly, she discusses her advice for the next generation of female leaders (16:13), her personal and professional goals for 2022 (17:54), and her favorite quote that helps keep her grounded (19:06).
Laura Ravo is a retail guru whose talents and charisma have developed some of the highest performing teams in global retail. Her scrappy determination and endless curiosity have been the cornerstone of her success for nearly 30 years. Laura embarked on her “accidental” career in college when she began her retail career as a part-time night associate in ladies lingerie. As her journey continued, she worked her way up through the store ranks in department stores and specialty retail.
Laura advanced as a leader with some of the greatest brands in the business — Macy’s, L Brands, LensCrafters, Oakley, and The Body Shop. Each brand left a mark on her heart, and she left each brand better than she found it. Laura is a sought-after mentor, speaker and industry expert. Her mantra is that in order to lead with authenticity and purpose in today’s complex world, you must bring your whole self to your job and your team.
Date: January 18, 2022
Credits: Laura Ravo
Duration: 20:25
More Episodes
CAMP CEO and President Jenica Myszkowski on Scaling Immersive Retail Experiences
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Jenica Myszkowski, CEO and president of CAMP, an experience company that brings families together through immersive adventures that inspire play. This discussion was recorded at Shoptalk in Las Vegas last week. Myszkowski discusses how previous roles shaped her as a leader; overcoming challenges as CAMP scales and opens new stores; how she stays inspired and creative; and more.
11:27 Motivating Teams Through Radical Transparency: Insights From Lulus' CEO Crystal Landsem
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Crystal Landsem, CEO of Lulus, the attainable luxury women's fashion brand known for trendy, stylish and feminine apparel, footwear and accessories. Landsem discusses the challenges and experiences that have informed her leadership style; her career journey from finance to fashion retail; motivating teams through radical transparency and servant leadership; her advice for young women leaders; and more.
20:54 RERUN: How BARK CXO Meghan Knoll Brings Storytelling to Dog Toy Design
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Managing Editor Marie Albiges interviews Meghan Knoll, chief experience officer (CXO) at BARK, the leading global omnichannel dog brand known for its monthly subscription, BarkBox. Knoll provides an overview of her primary responsibilities as CXO, a few learnings from building the BARK business to where it is today, how she empowers her team to be innovative, her push-pull approach to work-life imbalance, and more.
40:09 Inside TOMS’ Turnaround: CCO Katie Wagner on Wholesale Growth and Brand Reinvention
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Managing Editor Marie Albiges interviews Katie Wagner, chief commercial officer at TOMS, a Certified B Corporation global lifestyle brand known for its iconic shoes and giving model. Listen in as Wagner reflects on the first 20 years of the TOMS brand; balancing its iconic heritage with a brand refresh; lessons learned from her time at Crocs; creating a culture of curiosity; and more.
36:46 ButcherBox Commercial Chief Reba Hatcher on 'Mastering the Spin' in Career Transitions
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Managing Editor Marie Albiges interviews Reba Hatcher, chief commercial officer at ButcherBox, a delivery subscription service that offers high-quality, humanely raised meat and seafood. Hatcher shares insights about ButcherBox’s evolution over 10 years; using data to achieve growth while staying connected to customers; her varied, nonlinear career trajectory; advice on navigating cross-industry career changes; and more.
32:41 Rothy's CEO Dayna Quanbeck on Growth and Credibility Rooted in Sustainability
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Dayna Quanbeck, CEO and president of Rothy's, a direct-to-consumer company which takes a whole-brand approach to sustainability in manufacturing, transforming recycled materials into shoes, handbags and accessories. This episode was recorded at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City last week. Listen in as Quanbeck shares how Rothy's evolves while maintaining core values; what strong executive credibility looks like; lessons from her mentor, friend and former Rothy's CEO Jenny Ming; and more.
21:29 Boden Commercial Chief Katherine Danneberg Taps Into Her Leadership Purpose as an Enabler of Creativity
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Katherine Danneberg, chief commercial officer at Boden, the quintessentially British clothing brand for women and children. Listen in as Danneberg explains the evolution of her leadership style, her leadership purpose, hiring the right team members to fit Boden's brand values, strategies for developing future leaders, and more.
25:51 How Walmart EVP Andrea Albright Creates Psychological Safety
This special episode of Women in Retail Talks features a rerun of a previously published interview with Andrea Albright, executive vice president and chief growth officer, International, Walmart and operating partner, Massmart. This episode was originally published on March 18. Albright discusses how operational efficiency across Walmart's global network is led by the values of trust, value and resiliency; her usage of the Radical Candor leadership technique; how she's created an open and coachable environment for mentorship; and more.
21:22 How REI President and CEO Mary Beth Laughton Leads With Purpose
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Mary Beth Laughton, president and CEO of REI Co-op, a specialty outdoor retailer and the nation’s largest consumer co-op. This interview was recorded at the Women in Retail Leadership Circle On the Road: Seattle event, held on Nov. 6. Mary Beth details her career journey, lessons she's learned from leading purpose-driven brands, her approach to mentorship, and more.
26:37 How PopSockets CEO Jiayu Lin Taps Into Cultural Relevance With Global Reach
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Managing Editor Marie Albiges interviews Jiayu Lin, CEO of PopSockets, a global digital lifestyle company that sells empowering, fun and expressive products for mobile phones. Lin describes the business' 10 years of growth since inventing the original phone grip, how PopSockets taps into culturally relevant microtrends across more than 30 countries, protecting her and her team members' personal time, and more.
30:27 
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube Music
Amazon Music
Pandora