Relishing each moment and challenge
Meiava shines the spotlight on Lily Lee who shares her perspective on what having it all means, the pivotal moment in her career journey, and reflections of 2020.
Lily is currently a marketing adviser and consultant for three early-stage startups based in Australia and the United States. She has had an enviable marketing career working with leading brands including Procter & Gamble, Ferrero, Nestlé CPW, Pacific Brands, Yum Restaurants, Metcash, and RSEA Safety. Her path has been highlighted by growth experiences and challenges, discovering her strengths, and finding lasting friendships along the way. We speak with Lily as she begins a new chapter in her career journey.
Career journey
Meiava: How did you find your way into this industry?
Lily: I have worked across a broad range of both B2B and B2C industries, including consumer products, industrial apparel, retail, quick service restaurant, and fashion. At university, I studied Business Management with a major in marketing, so many case studies were based on blue chip companies like Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Unilever. I was lucky to have received a job offer from both companies in my last year of study. Deciding on a role with P&G, I moved from Brisbane to Sydney.
P&G was a great experience; it was the 90’s and back then, we had a Sydney team of 30+ marketers (not just trade marketing), where we were able to be involved in new product development as well as lead local advertising and marketing campaigns. Looking back at this, it was the best Marketing training and learning experience that you do not often get today, as roles today are stretched to deliver more with less.
After 7 years at P&G, I had a career hiatus (read about my pivotal moment below). My return to Marketing came when I landed a challenging role with YUM Restaurants as the Marketing Manager for Pizza Hut. I loved the fast pace of the quick service restaurant industry versus consumer products, developing 4 to 6 weekly campaigns backed by million-dollar budgets.
My next 8 years were spent with Pacific Brands as the Group Marketing Manager for Workwear and then the Intimate Apparel Division. This experience was invaluable as I honed my skills in local product development and developed new skills in wholesaling and B2B Marketing. It was during this time that I had my daughter, so I took 9 months maternity leave as a new parent. Like many companies, Pacific Brands struggled through the global financial crisis of 2008, and I was eventually made redundant in 2012.
During this time, I secured 2 contract roles including Marketing Manager for the Ready to Eat Cereal portfolio at Nestle’s CPW (Cereal Partners Worldwide joint venture with General Mills). My career journey then led me to interview for a General Manager, Marketing role at RSEA Safety, a fast growing, mid-sized workwear, and safety company serving tradespeople and small to large companies. The role offered the opportunity to grow a brand, work with previous Pacific Brands colleagues, while being closer in location to home to enable me to do school drop offs in the mornings before work. I am very proud of the impact I made at RSEA, which included designing a new brand identity, launching a new customer loyalty program, shifting the company to a digital/social focus, developing a high performing marketing team, and helping to drive double-digit growth for the business.
Fast forward to now. I have been looking for my next Marketing Director/CMO role for almost a year. COVID-19 has added another challenge as companies hold off recruitment and/or are actively shedding their workforce. I am happy though, as I have been consulting for 3 startups, one being Meiava (my sister is Mimi Lee), the other 2 being Aussie companies in sustainable technology and online delivery.
I did not always know this about myself, but one thing I value most is having different experiences and exploring new challenges. This has influenced my career where I have worked across vastly different industries, giving me broad omnichannel marketing experience (B2B, B2C, online) with a strong mix of traditional and digital marketing.
Grit and perseverance
Meiava: Psychologist Angela Duckworth found that talent does not equal success. She indicates that it takes grit which is a combination of passion for a goal and the perseverance to achieve it. Do you agree? How might this relate to you, and is there an example you can share?
Lily: I love the word grit and it is often used in the world of sporting achievements. When talking about career development, it is about having ‘resilience’ and the ability to be adaptable and agile to change (in order to survive and thrive). Because much of success is based on how well a team performs, I would say that ‘talent’ is mastering both technical skills and the softer, people skills.
“Success is based on how well a team performs. ”
Being a Generation X Working Woman
Meiava: What is a major challenge that your Generation faces today?
Lily: I have never actively thought about myself as a Gen-X. Having said that, there are challenges that our generation faces when it comes to finding work.
Firstly, there is lack of flexibility for career women to take time off to have kids and to come back at the same seniority level. Part time work is almost non-existent for senior women executives. There are many ‘school mums’ who are highly skilled, but because they had 2 or 3 kids and have spent several years out of the workforce, they have had to reinvent themselves, take more junior roles, or continue to stay at home full time.
“There is a lack of flexibility for career women to take time off to have kids and come back at the same seniority level.”
Secondly, now that I am approaching 50 and looking for a new Head of Marketing role, I am very conscious that there is age bias, particularly if someone younger would be my Manager. Would they want someone older and potentially more experienced reporting to them? Would they think I am too old and not digitally savvy? In the Marketing world, role titles no longer carry the same weight when people just out of university can hold the title of “Marketing Manager”.
Meiava: What might be practical solutions to address this challenge?
Lily: Working women in a position of recruiting should be actively creating and lobbying for part time roles for other women to get this talent back into the workforce. An upside of COVID-19 will be that more businesses will be open to flexible working, whether that be working from home, working outside of 9 to 5 hours or more part time roles.
When I was at RSEA Safety, I was recruiting for a Direct Marketing Manager. I had specifically designed the role to be part time so that I could attract more senior caliber women candidate versus a full time junior. The advantages included having the candidate hit the ground running, bring a depth of experience and learnings to the role, and have reciprocated flexibility if I needed her to come in for specific meetings.
Not all roles can be part time, so it is refreshing to see job sharing working as a flexible option, even at a CEO level.
Meiava: What advice would you share with working women of your Generation?
Lily: For all working women, regardless of age, it is so important to maintain your female friendships and networks. The more openly I talk to others, the more I understand that everyone has their own unique experiences, but we also have common experiences which can be a great source of advice and support when needed.
“It is important to also share our struggles and challenges. When you have the courage to ask for help and advice, you open yourself up to opportunities.”
Redundancies and being stood down is becoming more common. I have been made redundant twice; it definitely hurt and did dent my confidence. While we tend to only want to share our career achievements, it is important to also share our struggles and challenges. When you have the courage to ask for help and advice, you open yourself up to opportunities.
Defining moments
Meiava: What has been a pivotal moment in your career or life? What impact did this have on who you are today?
Lily: When I was at high school, I wanted to be a fashion designer and I was accepted into a reputable Design School. Instead, I chose to complete a university degree in Business/Marketing as I wanted to give myself career options in the future. I knew the skills learnt would help, even if I was to start my own design business down the track.
After a wonderful 7-year career with P&G, I got that itch back. This time my plan was to study Fashion Design part time while holding a full time Marketing role. So, my pivotal moment was when I turned up for my first evening class and was given my curriculum for the semester. I went into a state of panic as I realized the course load was heavy and I had to choose! Over the course of the next few weeks, I made the decision to switch to full time Fashion Design and was able to negotiate a part time project role with P&G to support my new, poorer student life (I was sad to hand back the keys of my company car).
This pivotal moment set me on a 3-year journey where I completed my fashion design diploma, and during this time, made some great friends for life. It also saw me pack up and move from Sydney to Milan, Italy, where I had the best and worst year of my life. It was the best year in that I was pursuing my fashion design career while experiencing a new culture and doing a lot of traveling around Europe. With this came practical struggles of being in a foreign country, not knowing anyone initially, and not having the security of a paid job.
I learnt a lot and realized that I was not as passionate about fashion design, as I was not prepared to start from the bottom. I am so glad that I gave my dream a shot. And most of all, I have no regrets. I am also glad that I was honest with myself and that the experience reignited my love of Marketing to this day.
Having it all
Meiava: What is your view on career and life - Can you have it all?
“Having it all has had a negative impact on people focusing on what they do not have, versus focusing on and appreciating what they do have.”
Lily: I think the notion of ‘having it all’ has had a negative impact on people focusing on what they do not have, versus focusing on and appreciating what they do have.
There are many aspects to life (health, family, friendships, pursuits) and to a career (money, title, team, and culture), that I find it is about having a good balance and a positive perspective. This is the key to happiness!
I am not sure I have ‘had it all’ for more than a fleeting moment. What I am sure of, is that I have an amazing loving husband and daughter and my family life makes me incredibly happy and fulfilled. I would not say I am not ‘career focused’, rather with this career pause, I am finding contentment with what I do have; more time for family, more time for me, and an opportunity to work with startups.
Reflection of 2020
Meiava: When you reflect on the global events this year, what has it highlighted to you as a working woman?
Lily: 2020 in Sydney started with devastating bushfires which affected 7% of our state and an unprecedented 37% of our New South Wales parks. We have also been affected by major global events like Black Life Matters, reminding us about the importance of human equality, no matter what race or gender.
“One of the most important positive effects (of this year) has been a greater appreciation of relationships and to not take this for granted.”
We are continuing to experience the downside effects of COVID19 on our lives and economy. It is easy to understand why for many, we would want to write off the year. But, one of the most important positive effect has been a greater appreciation of relationships and to not take this for granted, whether it be colleagues that you used to have coffee with, your grandmother that you were able to visit regularly, or having dinner parties with friends.
In times of crisis, I hope we can all be our better selves each day, to pull together as a community at a local, state, national and global level.