Nicole Fournier is the vice president of retail at Oatey, the leading manufacturer of plumbing specialty products. She’s also a Women in Retail Leadership Circle member! In this member spotlight, we asked Fournier a series of questions about both her professional and personal lives, including the woman that inspires her, her leadership style, her advice for the next generation of female leaders, and much more, so that you can get to know her better.

  1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
    Anything by Elin Hilderbrand
  2. What’s a tip you have for productively leading a remote or hybrid team?
    Make time and leave space to connect on a personal level; you aren’t going to run into anyone at the coffee pot.
  3. What’s a mistake you made early on in your career?
    Not speaking up in situations where I should have because I was more junior in the conversations
  4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
    Understanding the ramifications of my mistakes
  5. What’s the best way you motivate team members?
    Helping them see that when they all contribute, the outcome is always greater.
  6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
    Anyone who is sharing a personal experience in a public setting to help those that maybe unable or those coming after them. Whether they’re famous and on social media/television or just around their own kitchen tables.
  7. What are you looking forward to the most for the retail industry?
    The influx of new associates who have joined the home improvement industry from other retail-based industries
  8. What’s one thing you look for when interviewing a job candidate?
    Passion about what they can bring to the role or organization
  9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year?
    I need to sing in the car on the way home to transition from work me to mom/wife me.
  10. What’s your favorite podcast?
    No podcasts; I like loud music or a well-written book.
  11. What values are most important to you as a leader?
    Follow-through and understanding the “why”
  12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you?
    I look at every angle and want the solution that’s best for every party, but not a compromise.
  13. What’s one habit you adopted while working from home that you kept/would like to keep with you as you return to the office?
    Allowing my personal life to be a little more visible. I do have a family and sometimes I prioritize them during 9-5.
  14. How would you describe yourself in a single sentence?
    A considerate synthesizer who is eternally optimistic that there’s a winning solution
  15. What’s your favorite app?
    Whatever one the kids’ sports teams are using for practice updates, games, sign-ups, etc.!
  16. What do you do to recharge?
    Getting outside and feeling “small” next to the ocean or on a hike
  17. What’s your biggest accomplishment?
    Raising my children to appreciate how beautiful the world can be when you can find joy in all of it.
  18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
    Bring another seat to the table, and while you’re there, it’s because you (and those you brought) deserve to be there.
  19. What gets you up in the morning?
    The excitement of seeing the team achieve more than they thought they might
  20. What do you like most about being a member of Women in Retail Leadership Circle?
    The points of view from more “traditional retail” business leaders. And the space to share that it can be hard sometimes.

Interested in connecting with women like Nicole? Apply today to become a Women in Retail Leadership Circle member!