Living Life On Purpose - Sabbatical Update

My seven-month sabbatical has been more than I could have hoped. As it now comes to an end, I’m reflecting on what I’ve accomplished, and what the future will hold. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

I was able to take much needed time out to really relax, reflect, and do an honest self-assessment (strengths/weakness, motivators/de-motivators), to help crystalize my life’s purpose as a guide to determine my next career move. I was also able to spend quality time with my family and young children (almost 8 and 12 years old) and get them settled in New York after living in Geneva, Switzerland for eight years. I’ve enjoyed re-kindling and building relationships with US friends and colleagues and challenging myself in new and different ways — including training for and running a marathon!

On November 5, 2017, I had the amazing experience of completing the 2017 TCS NYC Marathon. It was so much fun — like one big 26.2-mile block party full of music, singing, and dancing while running and kinship with friends and family. At the same time, it was super HARD — especially the last 6 miles. 

They say a marathon can be broken into three parts — the first 10 miles you run with your head (getting your race strategy in place), the next 10 miles with your legs (executing your strategy and just pounding through), and the last 10K with your heart. When I hit 20 miles, I know what they meant. My legs turned into complete bricks, and I literally didn’t know how I was going to get through the last 6 miles. This is where friends, family and sheer determination kicked in and carried me through — heart ❤️! I was so grateful for the many friends and family that came out to offer advice, encouragement, and support. My Joy Works teammates and I enjoyed running the first 12 miles together, and all finished the race happy, excited, and proud that we all did it! Thanks to your generosity, I also raised $9,000 for the Central Park Conservancy to help keep Central Park beautiful, thriving and safe. 

Another exciting fact about the race is that 40% of the runners were women from all over the world. Previously, these races skewed male. In the early 1960s, women had been barred from road races as experts claimed distance running was damaging to their health and femininity. Some officials infamously warned that a woman’s uterus might fall out should she attempt to run such distances. Women are slowly starting making their way into races. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon under the name K. V. Switzer, and one of the officials tried to push her out of the race after realizing she was a woman (and not a man as they an assumed). It wasn't until 1972 that women were allowed to officially take part in distance road running. It’s taken almost half a century, but women are nearly equally represented to men in many races. 

Women continue to run a race of a different kind, with increasing representation in practically every field, and more and more empowered to speak out, speak up and call for change. We see stories every day of women (and men alike) standing up against harassment in the workforce, and significant female Chief appointments (Gina Drosos, CEO, Signet Jewelers; Rosalind Brewer, COO, Starbucks; Jerri DeVard, CMO, Office Depot; Bozoma Saint John, CBO at Uber, etc.) Female consumers, and especially women of color, are also speaking out against what we expect from products, brands, and advertisers.

Women consumers expect realistic and diverse images reflected in advertising and communication, products and shades that work for women of all shapes, sizes, skin/hair types, and tones. We expect to be valued for all the different roles we play in society as business leaders, athletes, caregivers, political figures, teachers, etc. I had a great experience with this during my early years running the COVERGIRL business. Women responded so favorably to us introducing non-stereotypical spokesmodels to the brand starting in 2002 with Queen Latifah and continuing with Ellen DeGeneres, Pink, and Janelle Monae whom each challenged and defied conventional beauty stereotypes during their introduction. Women overwhelmingly responded positively feeling valued, recognized and empowered, rewarded the brand with their purchases, and love. Women feeling empowered, valued, and celebrated should be the new norm in the world at large, and in our brand building and marketing.  

As I reflected on what I wanted to do professionally post-sabbatical, I was clear that I wanted to do something that would make a difference and be consistent with my life’s purpose. During my sabbatical, I further sharpened my life’s purpose: Inspiring greatness through passionate achievement, beauty confidence, and well being — women and girls as the primary focus.

As of January 2018, I’ve decided to join Unilever as the EVP/COO of Personal Care North America to help fulfill this mission. I’ve discovered Unilever to be a very purpose-driven organization that has an overall business model that prioritizes and emphasizes community impact. This is brought to life in Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. Unilever just announced a new addition to its personal care portfolio — Sundial Brands which includes the treasured SheaMoisture brand, a favorite for multi-cultural consumers and millennials. This agreement includes a groundbreaking partnership that will create a $100M fund to invest in and empower women of color entrepreneurs with an immediate commitment of $50M and the close of the deal. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with visionary founder Richelieu Dennis (pictured above with me and Kees Kruythoff, President, Unilever North America) and the Sundial Team, and to leverage and expand SunDial/SheaMoisture’s success model. I am equally as excited to lead the nearly $5B portfolio of personal care products in North America that includes iconic brands like Dove, Vaseline, TreSemme, Suave, Axe, and more.  

This role is a clear opportunity for me to continue to fulfill my personal purpose to inspire greatness through passionate achievement, beauty confidence, and well being. I look forward to leading the business and team to its next chapter which will including driving additional cultural competency, brand portfolio and community impact!

I will work to ensure that my sabbatical is more than a break from work, but to have a lasting impact on how I work and live my life — purpose-driven with more balance and fulfillment. 

As I lace up for this next leg of my journey, I’ll take inspiration from my great marathon experience. I will run the race with my head (thinking and planning), my legs (enabling and executing), and my heart (passion for the team, community, and consumers) — but this time all together at once!

I am so grateful for the advice and support of my friends, and family throughout this process.

All My Best, 

Esi