Julie Mathers: It all started with a vanilla slice! My first job in retail was part time in a bakery when I was 15 at school. I worked at Spinks Bakery for two years on weekends and on holidays and loved it. I loved talking to customers and trading the shop. This is where I fell in love with physical retail and why I understand the power of physical retail and community. In the bakery I knew most customers’ names and knew what they wanted before they’d even reached the counter. We’re doing the same now – we’ve just digitalised it. This is where I became customer-obsessed and have remained so ever since.  At uni I studied engineering and have a Bachelor and Master’s ofEngineering, but post-uni, I decided I didn’t fancy wearing a hard hat and got back into retail with John Lewis through their grad scheme. Fast forward a lot of years and I have worked for some of the largest retailers in the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia. Over the years, I’ve also worked in management consultancy and private equity, so have experienced many sides of retail.   IR: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your career and how have you dealt with them? JM: The biggest one for me is speed. I like to run quickly and that isn’t always possible when you’re not driving the bus. When you work for larger companies, often there’s a lot of process and red tape. It’s a brake to speed and the only way I could properly deal with this was doing my own thing. It was the best decision I made to maximise my potential. I’ve never been busier running my own business, but I’ve also never been so fulfilled.  One of the other challenges I have faced, unfortunately, is being actively excluded or discriminated against and it has happened a lot – it’s happened in terms of age, and gender mostly, but also background too. I started my career in the late 90s when it was commonplace and ‘accepted’. Not as bad now, but it still happens, and it’s the unconscious bias which is a real issue.   If you are conscious of the problem you can deal with it; if you aren’t, that’s when it becomes toxic. My way of dealing with it now is calling it as I see it and being ok with that. It also helps that I run my own businesses, so I drive the culture and make sure we have a culture that is inclusive.   IR: What do you love about your job? JM: I love that my job never feels like a job. I love everything I do every day and it doesn’t feel like work; it feels like I am creating something amazing and driving change. I am customer-obsessed so I relish in creating amazing experiences for our customers, I love listening to them, talking to them and will frequently answer social queries on evenings and on the weekend. I think every CEO should do that – get close to your customers, understand them, and engage with them.   I manage my own agenda and for anyone who knows me, they know that is the only way I can operate. Every day is different. Right now, I’m writing this on a flight to Perth where we have a photoshoot. Yesterday, we had our EOFY sale with our biggest day ever – the trader in me LOVES days like yesterday. And this morning, I was talking next season and new product.  The variety is key and working with awesome people who are equally passionate about what we do makes the whole thing an amazing challenge. The highs are high and the lows you learn from.   IR: Where do you go for career advice?  JM: In this area I think it is key to know yourself well and understand what works for you. I am not someone who responds well to books, mentors or coaches, but that’s me. My preference is to have an amazing network who I can chat to about specific challenges at the time – that has been invaluable to me. I also find it’s critical to be able to self-reflect, challenge myself and my thinking and be willing to make changes on the back of that. Being vulnerable is a strength and self-talk, and self reflection, for me at least, really helps me develop as a leader. I get lots of things right and plenty wrong and it’s important to deep dive and understand what I might change in that moment and going forward – I go for daily runs and that is my development time!  IR: What’s your approach to work-life balance? Also, how do you manage your attention across the multiple projects you’re a part of? JM: I don’t stress about work-life balance for me personally but it’s quite different when you own and run a business. My dad describes me as being hard-wired to work and he’s right. I love working and enjoy it, so I don’t split it out from my non-work life – it’s a big beautiful merge of one. I just make sure I have amazing moments with Tom and our two boys so we create memories and quality ones. It’s a different situation for my team and I am very conscious my choice to work is different to theirs, so I overcompensate by scheduling my emails during work hours even if I’m writing them at midnight.   In terms of managing my time and the different businesses and boards I’m part of, I am a champion prioritiser and don’t get easily phased.   Some things just have to get done and there’s no way around it – e.g., we launched our two new Snuggle Hunny websites recently. Everything else that was not related to this was parked whilst this happened.   I recognise I don’t need to be in every meeting or be part of every conversation and decisions can be made without me – the world keeps turning! I also have become better at saying no. I used to say yes to everything and lately I have had to say no a lot.   The harsh reality is I work a lot and seven days a week, but what I get is flexibility and that works for me.