I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Young O'Donnell, as the first in a series of women in Asia who are successful and already living out the principles outlined in Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. O'Donnell is the Chief Executive Officer of Seibu Hong Kong and Beauty Bazaar/Harvey Nichols China. I’d met her at a talk she gave at an event held by The Women's Foundation attended by leaders in the luxury industry, and her background and career trajectory are truly inspiring. I had a chance to sit down with O'Donnell and ask her 10 questions pertaining to how she has been able to navigate her industry, develop her career and become a woman business leader in Asia. Before I go into the interview, here is Sarah's impressive bio:
Sarah Young O'Donnell is the Chief Executive Officer of Seibu Enterprise Co., Ltd., overseeing the Seibu department store business in Hong Kong as well as the development new cosmetics mega-stores, including Beauty Bazaar By Harvey Nichols, in Hong Kong/China and the new Beauty Avenue megastore to be rolled out in Langham Place Hong Kong*. Prior to joining the C-suite of Seibu, O'Donnell held management positions in Asia at the Dickson Group, Warner Brothers Studio Stores and the Lane Crawford Group. Before arriving in Asia, O'Donnell was a rising star in merchandising and store management at Bloomingdale's in New York. She holds a BA in Political Science from Wellesley College as well as an AS in Design from Parsons School of Design, and she has an MA (pt) in the History of Art and Architecture at Tufts University and was a Teaching Fellow in Fine Arts/History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. She is married and has three children.
(J: Jennifer Cheng, S: Sarah Young O’Donnell)
J: How did your diverse educational background (in political science, art, architecture, and design) influence your career path?
S: Elements of what I studied relate to what I do today and the problems I have to solve. When it comes down to it, the retail industry is analytical, creative, visual, and influenced by political and economic factors. It's really quite useful to look at business from a broader perspective and within a larger context. The ability to think contextually is very helpful. My fields of study and educational background all helped me to gain insight and build a strong foundation for the kind of thinking required in my career path.
