Qualities of Successful Leadership According to Some of BIC’s Female Leaders
At BIC, leadership is more than just a title, it’s a sum of qualities ingrained in individuals who not only strive to do great work, but also positively impact and empower those around them.
Leadership at our organization is characterized by an unwavering commitment to authenticity, creativity, curiosity, innovation, and persistence. Below, several leaders who personify these traits share their tips for success and detail how they’ve forged their own dynamic career paths as members of Team BIC.
Jeany Mui, Marketing Director, Flame for Life
Authenticity amplifies creativity.
Jeany is the Marketing Director in our Flame for Life category, working with a talented team to create strategic plans to expand the BIC Lighter business and increase market share. Since joining the team 3-and-a-half years ago, Jeany has thrived here at BIC where her authentic approach to leadership allows her to have fun while working on exciting new projects. Jeany’s unique approach to work focuses on ‘finding the fun’ wherever possible and led to success with the Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, and Willie Nelson EZ Reach Lighter campaign - creating significant buzz in the media!
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"Making my mark with Team BIC means BIC allows me to be me while delivering results that people will remember and having fun together with the people on my team."
Olga Vayena, VP Quality, Core Technologies, and Compliance
Dare to be bold.
As Vice President of Quality, Core Technologies, and Compliance, Olga oversees cross-functional teams who are developing and executing measures to uphold our brand’s reputation for product excellence. She enjoys being part of a team that pursues bold, strategic moves and creates a strong, promising future for our organization. Olga joined Team BIC 7 years ago and since then, she’s held various exciting roles that have inspired her own professional growth and provided her the opportunity to expand her skills and capabilities.
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“My journey to leadership involves embracing change, empowering my team, and never ceasing to learn!”
Katie Potocki, Marketing Director, Blade Excellence
Stay curious and never stop learning.
Meet Katie, Director of Marketing for our Blade Excellence business in the U.S., whose innate curiosity and passion for learning has allowed her to make a positive impact with her work and thrive in her career. Her innovative mindset and fresh approach to marketing helps get customers excited about our blade technology! Since joining the team 3 years ago, her work on our EasyRinse Razor campaign has not only strengthened Katie’s BIC expertise but has also placed her as a trusted expert within the industry.
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“3 qualities that make me a successful leader are curiosity to understand the ‘why’ and the ‘what’; the ability to use feedback to create an action plan; and creativity, which is especially important in marketing, but also important for being solutions-oriented anywhere."
Jen Elmashni, VP, General Manager, Rocketbook
Don’t underestimate the power of persistence.
Jen first began her career journey with BIC as VP Global e-Commerce and Digital Marketing where she led the creation of BIC’s strategic vision for online shopping. Since then, Jen has sharpened her skillset and taken on new challenges as the General Manager for Rocketbook where she’s responsible for growing the Rocketbook brand globally as a part of BIC's Horizon strategy, a set of initiatives that inspire our team members to stretch the boundaries of what BIC can be. Jen truly demonstrates what it means to, “unlock your full potential,” through her career growth journey here at BIC.
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“I always wanted the experience of a General Manager role, and I was always proactive about communicating where I wanted to go and the experiences I wanted to have. BIC is about creating your own destiny when it comes to your career and development and has very much so lived into supporting my hopes and wishes to grow.”
Alix Dolidon, VP Finance Group Supply Chain
Pave your own path forward.
Alix, VP of Finance for Group Supply Chain, is currently based in Dubai, UAE but is looking forward to an upcoming move the Athens, Greece in coming months. During her 9-year career at BIC, she has held 6 different positions in 5 different business units, working in countries around the world! Throughout her tenure there’s one key piece of learning that stands out to her: How to use strategic thinking to optimize and improve financial operations to ignite sustainable and profitable growth across the organization. Alix’s global experience at BIC translates into a wealth of knowledge and leadership capabilities that drive her and our business forward.
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“BIC has not only given me the opportunity to grow my career in Finance, but also the chance to engage with people from other cultures, diverse backgrounds and experiences across the world – making me a stronger leader.”
Olivia Arnold, Senior Director, E-Commerce & Office Products
Growth happens in the ‘now’, not the ‘what’s next’.
In 2019, Olivia joined BIC as Director of E-Commerce for North America. Today, as Senior Director, E-Commerce & Office Products, Olivia leads a team of sales professionals focused on e-commerce and office products customers across the U.S. and Canada. Day-to-day, they partner with retailers, work to optimize assortments, pricing/promotion, retail media, and other activations, and enhance BIC’s digital and retail shelves. It’s with her persistent dedication to driving growth and efforts to unlock barriers that she leads herself and her team to success.
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“Focus not on the next steps of the specific career path that you thought you should go down and instead maximize the role you're in now. Instead of looking for the next thing or looking too far into the future, I focus intensely on the role I'm currently in to unlock opportunities.”
Simone Schuster, Sr Manager, Global BodyMark Brand & Skin Creative
Innovation leads to impact.
Simone began her BIC career 6 years ago in strategy, later making her way into marketing and innovation. With her broad skillset and array of experiences, Simone has now made her way to Senior Brand Manager working on everything BodyMark! It’s because of innovative thinkers, like Simone, that our business can continue to adapt and remain responsive to the ever-changing market. Simone’s outside-the-box approach to work allows her to think beyond the boundaries of what we know BIC to be, reigniting our brand for future generations.
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“I'm always excited to see things that I worked on that have been passed to other team members that are still successful today, years later. I enjoy seeing the impact of my work in real life, whether it's a campaign or product!"
If you’re looking to join a team where you can experience meaningful career growth, are encouraged to bring your big ideas to the table and have fun while executing your goals, BIC is the place for you.
Join our growing team today: careers.bic.com.