06.08.2024 Today’s Inspiration from Gina Drosos, CEO of the World’s Largest Specialty Retail Jeweler
Dear Students,
Who amongst you hasn’t heard the expression “a diamond in the rough?” Many of you, our ambitious international students, can actually be described in this way – bright, motivated, energetic, and aspiring professionals seeking global careers (and, at the same time, very much poised to benefit from our comprehensive coaching, to “polish” your power skills).
Yet, it’s been a challenge lately for natural “diamonds in the rough” to maintain their post-polish luster, with Allied Market Research recently reporting that “The global lab-grown diamonds market was valued at $24.0B in 2022, and is projected to reach $59.2B by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2023 to 2032.”
Enter Gina Drosos, CEO of nearly $8B Signet Jewelry (a conglomerate better recognized by retailers like Kay, Zales, etc.), who has transformed a lackluster, pre-and post-pandemic business by adopting a unique data-driven approach, since she stepped into the top role 6 years’ back. According to HerMoney.com, Drosos took the initiative to drive an innovative effort for identifying who is most likely to purchase diamonds, a strategy which helped to “…pull America’s largest jeweler out of a long slump.” And now, Drosos is also seeking to reinforce the allure of natural diamonds, despite the counter-trend above, by educating prospective buyers that “lab-grown” is not necessarily much better for the environment than real diamonds (despite what many young couples think).
Some candidates (maybe even you?!) might conclude that such a viewpoint could be considered intuitive, particularly if an executive like Drosos (with 30+ years of progressive leadership experience and who hails from Akron, Ohio) had been studying and/or was familiar with jewelry industry trends. Yet, quite the contrary, as Drosos’ prior experience comes from the healthcare and retail beauty sectors, which arguably have little in common with the roughly $100B global diamond market.
Hence, one aspect of what’s “beautiful” about global commerce – those of you who will thrive as leaders in the West will typically bring a wide range of key power skills with you, across institutions and positions, as you ascend vertically, while leveraging these competencies in myriad functions horizontally, which you will do within whichever industries and organizations you choose to help build.
Wishing you and yours a multi-“faceted” evening!
Best,
Amy-Louise