Lauri Kien Kotcher on Balancing Innovation and Heritage at The Shade Store
This episode of Women in Retail Talks features part of an interview with Lauri Kien Kotcher, CEO of The Shade Store, from our Women in Retail and Total Retail Virtual Exchange last month. In this clip from the interview, which was conducted by Women in Retail Leadership Circle Senior Editor Marie Albiges, Kien Kotcher shares what attracted her to join The Shade Store (3:30), how she prepared to become the first outside CEO to join the company in its 75-year history (5:23), and how she balances learning a new company culture while introducing new goals and innovative ideas (6:31).
Furthermore, Kien Kotcher discusses why she’s excited for the future of the entrepreneurial company (8:15), how she has brought an innovative approach to each new role during her career (9:33), and how to know when it’s time to transition to a new opportunity (11:24). She shares how she grew her career without having a road map (13:00), as well as how she’s keeping her teams happy and motivated by investing in employee health, wellness and professional development at The Shade Store (15:39). Lastly, Kien Kotcher discusses how she’s growing the leadership pipeline for women in the retail industry (19:40).
Watch an on-demand recording of Lauri Kien Kotcher’s full interview from the February Virtual Exchange, as well as discussions with other leading retail and brand executives, here.
Lauri Kien Kotcher’s career has been focused on her passion for building consumer brands that people fall in love with. She has driven outsized growth from a variety of vantage points as a C-suite executive, board member and investor and at levels of scale, from startup to multibillion dollar revenue companies. She’s the CEO of The Shade Store and the former CEO of Hello Products, a naturally friendly personal care company. She has been a board member and a strategic advisor to many fast-growth consumer, fashion and beauty companies, including her work as an advisory board member at Springboard Enterprises, a venture catalyst platform for women entrepreneurs, and at The New York Fashion Tech Lab, a business incubator for early-stage companies at the intersection of fashion and technology.
Date: March 1, 2022
Credits: Lauri Kien Kotcher
Duration: 22:04
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