In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Women in Retail Leadership Summit in Miami, Paula Bennett, the recently retired (as of this week) CEO of J.Jill, discussed her career journey and the principles that shaped it along the way. ( Synchrony , a consumer financial services company delivering customized financing programs across retail and other industries, is the Diamond sponsor of the Summit.) Learn and Teach, Teach and Learn As a student at Ohio State University’s business school, Bennett, one of only seven women of the 234 students in the program at the time, had the good fortune of learning from Professor William Davidson. That experience, and Davidson’s teachings, stuck with Bennett as she progressed through her career. A guiding principle that Bennett took from Davidson is the continual need to be learning, no matter the stage of her career. She’s a firm believer that to be successful in business, you need to remain curious and build upon your knowledge and expertise. Whether in the Bloomingdale’s training program, Bennett’s first retail job, or as the CEO of a publicly traded company, she continually sought to educate herself. In fact, that need to learn was the reason why she transitioned to multiple companies in the retail industry. 4 Principles to Career Success Bennett’s 40-plus year career included positions of increasing responsibility at many organizations, culminating at Eileen Fisher, Orchard Brands, and J.Jill. So what’s been the secret to her success, both individually as well as the organizations she has led? Bennett cited four key principles that have been instrumental to her career success: having an inherent curiosity and thirst for knowledge; finding something that she loves to do; choosing company cultures that aligned with her core values; and setting clear goals for her teams. J.Jill had three primary missions, Bennett […]

Read Full Story:  Learning and Teaching Defines Paula Bennett’s Career

Source:  Total Retail