Known Unknowns | Melissa Mullen
KNOWN UNKNOWNS IS A SERIES THAT PROFILES MOVERS AND SHAKERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
TO DRIVE BETTER, MORE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES.
Meet Melissa Mullen - Vice President and General Manager for the Jo Malone London UK & Ireland team.
With 20 years' experience with well- known retailers such as the Aurora Group, Marks & Spencer and latterly Nike, Mellisa has spent the past fifteen years in Digital, Ecommerce, Omnichannel & DTC retail roles. During this time, she has had the privilege of living and working in 5 countries, spanning Europe, Asia and North America - embracing and absorbing the experiences the cultural differences these incredible places have to offer.
Melissa is a passionate supporter of the NSPCC and sits on their The Rebuilding Childhoods Board. She is also a Co-Exec Sponsor of Estee Lauder Companies’ Diversity & Inclusion Employee Resource Group. She believes deeply in the power of people and the transformative effect that can have on business, consumers and communities.
Your career trajectory is impressive - you have vast experience in senior positions for big companies such as Nike, M&S and most recently, Jo Malone London, where you are responsible for leading the omni-channel retail business and cross-functional teams. You are also a business mentor. Can you tell me what you mean when you say you believe in the power of people?
It is too often the case that leaders, through subconscious bias, hire people who are just like them or a vision of what they already know or have. With all the teams I have had the privilege to lead, I have unequivocally found that when you build a diverse team of experts, you create a beautiful melting pot of people who question, challenge, and create purposeful change. I deeply believe that when you give without expectation and you honestly care for your people, including your consumers, you generate positive momentum. With that positive momentum, we are unstoppable.
We know Jo Malone London to be a timeless, luxury British brand. What excites you the most about working with the brand and the Estee Lauder Group?
I moved to Jo Malone London from Nike, where I was fortunate enough to do some incredible work with some incredible people. However, when I was approached by Estee Lauder Companies and Jo Malone London, what sparked my interest and excitement was their commitment to social impact causes. I have supported the NSPCC in a variety of ways for 16 years, and although Nike does a huge amount of charitable giving, when I heard about Jo Malone London’s commitment to Mental Health charities, I felt a strong synergy with their values. I have grown as a person and as a leader being able to lead with soul.
Our series focuses on movers and shakers making a difference to drive better, more socially responsible business practices. How is Jo Malone London embracing better business practices?
Jo Malone London champions kindness and a value-led approach, which spoke to me.
How we do business matters. I believe we get to be good humans and deliver outstanding results. I hope I reflect a different generation of leaders where the two are not mutually exclusive.
In addition to the charities we support as a brand, I also get the privilege to be an executive sponsor for the Estee Lauder Companies’ work on sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance). We have a responsibility not to add to the climate crisis. We are the last generation that can do anything about it and will be the first generation to suffer its impact. The team love and feel equally as passionate about this work and come up with incredible insights and creative solutions.
Jo Malone London has big impact-driven ambitions. How do you balance doing good while making sure you drive profit?
I could find you many financial metrics or KPIs on employee satisfaction or consumer engagement, recruitment, and retention. All these things are important, but it is not simply one or the other anymore. Consumers and employees are choosing, consciously or subconsciously, brands that align with their values. During December, our busiest time of year, we participated in the NSPCC’s Walk for Children 5km Fundraiser as a team. We raised over £18,000 as a brand - and we've never had a better Christmas, profit-wise.
I don’t consider our social impact efforts and fiscal responsibilities separately; Jo Malone London proves that we can still drive incredible record-breaking business results and gain market share whilst being good humans. And that is what makes us better, happier, and more fulfilled as employees and people.
We are now in year 3 of a pandemic - how has covid influenced the way you do business, as a leader and then more broadly, Jo Malone London as an organisation?
From a business perspective, we are one of a handful of brands, with both a bricks and mortar presence, that have not only offset closures, but rebalanced and diversified our portfolio to deliver unprecedented growth in the current climate. I guarantee we will never know what the future truly holds, from pandemics to global crisis, war, or historic inflation; but as a team, we have proven to ourselves that with open conversations, transparency and care we can navigate through most challenges.
Another interesting observation is that because we could see into each other’s homes during online meetings, we have developed a level of intimacy that an office space could never foster. My team has seen my children grow in front of their own eyes and I am more aware of their personal circumstances than ever before, and they are of mine. It has unquestionably brought us closer, created a greater level of empathy and I believe it has broken down some of the artificial barriers (sometimes found in an office environment) because of the collective trauma we have all been through.
Personally, I have been able to spend more time with my children due to less international travel. Now I can take this renewed energy and use it to pay it forward into work and our team.
You‘ve spent your life navigating dyslexia - how has that shaped the way you lead?
I have always had to be hypersensitive to my surroundings and to people’s reactions in order to navigate and find the answers to problems. This is because my brain functions in a different way to many.
I have found that people tell you everything they need you to know without speaking, you just have to be awake enough to read these cues. This emotional intelligence, developed and honed over a lifetime, is one of my most used traits in business and leadership.
From a young age, I was blessed with an incredible memory and numerate ability, coupled with creativity. I think that this unique trait of my left and right brain having equal dominance stems from being dyslexic, and so after I learnt to navigate dyslexia, I came to view it as a superpower that makes me think and lead differently.
You didn't get to this point in your career overnight - what have you done consistently every day to reach your current level of success in your career?
Something I have done consistently is work hard and learnt to leverage how my brain functions to my advantage. I visualise tasks as numbers, shapes and colours and I enjoy complex problem solving through this method of simplification. This ultimately carries through to how I build and cascade our brand vision and collective strategy, ensuring we can move further, faster. I am also never paralysed by perfection because it just doesn't exist in my world. This means I can carry out processes quickly with perspective, meaning we do great work at pace.
These mindsets, practised and honed, have opened up doors of opportunity that enable me to explore and discover what it is that I am good at and where I can add value.
What does your ideal day of work look like to you?
My ideal day of work is doing something that feeds me. As a mum and leader of large teams, any time I spend dedicated to myself is a rarity. I would include an early morning yoga session or a piano lesson (I am still learning and dreadful) but I love how it challenges my brain in a different way.
I really like the balance and variety of hybrid working. Whilst there are times I find going into the office an absolute treat because I thrive on human interaction, there are days I like to work from home to dive into a really meaty and complex task. An ideal day will also be one where I get to add value; supporting one of our charity partners, solving a puzzle, or witnessing my team grow and thrive.
I read my children bedtime stories most nights as this is one of my non-negotiables, being a working parent. Having those moments where I get to see my son experiencing a new book or something he finds funny for the first time feeds me, like an energy boost. In the evenings, my husband and I sit around the table to talk then we both get back to work. But that's okay - I choose to do that because if I can fit the other bits in then that is a pretty great day.
Rapid Fire Questions
What life lesson do you know now that you wish you knew at the start of your career? I wish I knew that kindness is not a weakness. I also wish that someone had told me that my dyslexia would be my superpower because I would have worried about it less in my younger years.
What do you do for fun? I love not having to take life too seriously because it gives balance to other parts of my life. I love being silly with our boys, speaking with my brothers, yoga, running, laughing and I love watching bad stand-up comedy. Nothing fills my heart more than a cup of tea and ringing up an old friend to chat about life.
What keeps you awake at night? From a work perspective, I'm always thinking about upholding our values as an organisation, making sure that they are felt by every employee. From a personal perspective, I think about the world in which my children will grow up in, hence my passion for playing my part in areas of social impact and sustainability.
What podcast are you currently listening to? The Diary of A CEO, TED Talks, How to Fail, Happy Place. I am currently obsessed with Duolingo, so I spend as much time on that app as I do listening to podcasts.
What is one thing people don’t know about you that may surprise them? There are not many jobs I've not done and there are not many jobs that I would not do. There is nothing I would ask somebody to do that I wouldn't be willing to do myself. Some of the jobs I have done are working as a seamstress in a factory and looking after elderly & disabled adults as a caregiver. This attitude has helped me in my leadership journey.
What makes you feel powerful? Powerful is not a word I aspire to be but a good run makes me feel unstoppable, when the sun is shining and a great song drops. Perfect!
Fill in the missing word…. I dream of a world where ….. This could take all day. I dream of a world where being humane and kind are our highest attributes. I dream of a world where my son would come home with a gold star for his positive impact on others and our community, instead of for his handwriting.
For more information abut the work Jo Malone London is doing, visit https://www.jomalone.co.uk