BBR6 Thought Leader Q&A Series: Carina Breda of Orly International

Insightful, Creative, and Inspiring. 

These were the words overheard at the Beauty Biz Roundtable BBR6 event on January 25th in Santa Monica, describing Carina Breda, the VP of Marketing for Orly International, and her roundtable discussion of “How Orly Doubled Biz in a Down Economy: Putting Business Processes in Place.”

ORLY International Senior Vice President Carina Breda has swiftly driven ORLY to a new level of success in the beauty industry. A strategic leader with over 30 years of experience in the international beauty industry, Breda has fused her results-driven, cross-functional approach to marketing with the entrepreneurial spirit of ORLY. This strategy has brought structure to internal processes and greatly increased output from the marketing team. During her tenure Breda has tripled output of the innovation stream for ORLY and SpaRitual and increased marketing contribution to net sales from five percent to 20-30 percent.

In continuing our BBR 6 Interviews w/our amazing Thought Leaders, we asked Carina to share her thoughts and experiences with us.

Tell us about your career path/progression. The road to… where you are now? How did you get started? I got started as an intern in the beauty industry.

Why did you choose this career? Why the [beauty] industry? I bet almost all girls like the beauty industry. I started when I was 16 as an intern and started in hair. So I was all over it and liked everything I touched.

Who/what are your biggest career influences? I went back to school and did my MBA in Marketing. After that I worked in a global business unit and travelled the world. Learned global marketing and finally ended up in the US.

Who is today’s [beauty] consumer? How are they changing? I believe a beauty junkie will almost stay the same. However the methods how to reach a costumer might be different. I believe that social media is a big influencer and not everything get sold through traditional media. I also believe that our costumer is more educated than ever and has definitely a mind of its own.

What do [beauty] professionals need to do to continue to connect/attract with today’s beauty consumer? Talking to their costumer. Do some research. Costumer king approach is very important. Find different ways to connect with your costumer. The first moment of truth is important.

What do you see as the latest trends in your industry? Social media, Being a curator, Back to the future

What attributes make a great leader? Tell me about your leadership style.  Empowering people, Team building, Structure, Allowing to be creative, Open door policy, Clear goals, Measurements, Allow mistakes and talk about it

What kinds of qualities do you look for in an employee/when hiring a candidate/someone to join your team? Team player with a competitive edge, Structured, Creative, Beauty experience, Marketing background, Analytical, Go-getter mentality, Conceptually strong

What is the best way/strategy for someone interested in your company to employ to get a foot in the door? Send a resume to HR. Find out who is the responsible department head and direct it to this person.

What makes a candidate stand out? Being connected to the industry, Social networker – having connections to build the business, Outstanding and unique ideas, Rational marketing approach, Experience from a “big player”

For more details on Orly International, visit: http://orlybeauty.com/