Leading Through Collaborative Innovation - Jennifer Hessel
The world of beauty is a large ever-evolving industry. It can be difficult for new brands to differentiate themselves and grow while in competition with major, well-known beauty brands. It is crucial for brands to vet their unique qualities to stand out in the industry.
Furthermore, brands need strong and innovative leadership to stay afloat in the world of beauty. Jennifer Hessel, a beauty and branding innovator, has successfully led the brand Serucell to navigate the challenges of the beauty industry through her leadership techniques. Jennifer values a clear vision, a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ that the whole team visualized and worked toward. Her strategic and structured ways of leadership allowed the company to create impactful solutions that promoted brand growth.
We sat down with Jennifer to discuss the key components of successful leadership.
You are the former president and CEO of a new and growing brand — Serucell. Being a relatively new entrant into an already saturated market — how did you differentiate, grow and evolve your brand? Guiding a company as you have, requires crucial leadership and decision making skills — how would you apply your learnings if you were to serve on a board?
“Serucell is a ground breaking advanced science skincare company in the luxury market backed by revolutionary dual cell technology. The main point of difference is in the patented technology and proprietary KFS® ingredient naturally found in skin, to support the optimal healthy skin rejuvenation.
“Leadership in a startup or a large corporation requires a clear vision, perseverance, and the urge to help achieve the goals set forth to the team, regardless of the size. I have been fortunate enough to have had amazing mentors and bosses during my time at L’Oréal. Through their leadership, I learned some key elements of success. The most important ones being — integrated team work, strong inter-discipline collaboration, staying focused on the objectives, achieving milestones as a team, celebrating the wins, and thinking out of the box.
“When serving on a board, I would use everything I have learned along with understanding the corporate vision and story. Something I would focus on would be to identify the key challenges faced by the company, along with the corporate vision and story. Looking at alternative and out of the box solutions and opportunities and solutions, connecting company leaders to the necessary resources etc. are things I would do when serving on a board. The aforementioned will help implement solutions and engage in opportunities which will help grow the company.
“I excel in problem solving, out of the box thinking, staying abreast of innovative technologies and opportunities and retaining, improving and developing new relationships to fortify and build a company.”
