s like for her. Inside Retail: What was your career like before you started your skincare brand?  Emma Lewisham: I started studying science at university and then I did business. I had a real love for business – I’ve always been a problem-solver, if I see something I can improve, I find a way and do it.  I studied in Barcelona, and then came back to New Zealand and worked for a private think tank in more of an economics role. Then I went to Brother, the Japanese company, and worked there for nearly 10 years in a global senior executive role – in sustainability, strategy, marketing, operations.  I was super passionate about my career, always put my hand up, always eager to take on more responsibility. I really honed the craft of how you run a business, how divisions work together, listening to your customer, solving problems, how you treat people. It really set me up to run a company that is growing as quickly as it is. I’ve applied some really great learnings and lessons from having a global corporate role. IR: It sounds like you had many different roles at Brother, what are some of the biggest highlights from your time there?  EL: It’s never been one area. I’ve always been about, ‘What are we trying to achieve?’ And then you realise that it’s not just about your marketing, it’s about your ops, your finance teams, your comms team, your digital team, your customer service – everything working in symphony to solve a problem.  I love bringing people together around a common purpose and achieving something. I think that’s why we’ve been so successful – we have a phenomenal collaborative team. IR: Did you have a mentor, or somebody you worked with, who you found to be an inspiring leader? It sounds like you have quite a positive approach to leadership, and I’m curious where that came from?  EL: I’ve always been a leader. I think it’s something that I was born to do, to be honest. I really care about people and playing on their strengths. How do you focus on what they’re really good at and amplify them in that area? What they’re not good at, you give to someone else who’s good at that strength.  I have had some excellent leaders and people who I have learned from, and I’ve also seen people who made me think, ‘I don’t want to treat people like that.’  I’m a big believer in everyone feeling valued, no matter what their role is in the company. That’s probably because I’ve been in roles where I was a junior and wasn’t treated as kindly and it was hierarchical. I’m big on no egos and being humble and treating people with kindness and respect. IR: What does a typical day look like for you?  EL: I get up early. My daughter, who’s nearly four, wakes up at 5:30 in the morning, so I am an early bird, but I don’t mind that. We spend some time together and have breakfast at home. I’m at work early, because it’s the time that I have space and I can think and plan and be creative.  Then, I have meetings with the team, enabling decisions, working with our scientists in our lab, our physiologists. I break at lunch – we do pilates, or go for a walk. I do a lot of walking meetings with the team. Every day is so different in what we’re up to.  I leave work at about 5pm. I live 10 minutes away, so I’m really close. I get home to my daughter, and we’ll play games together. She has a big imagination, which is really fun. It takes me out of thinking about work. She goes to bed about 7pm, and then I spend the evening with my husband, we’ll have a chat, I’ll take a nice long shower, and do my skincare routine. I love reading books, listening to podcasts. I’m not a big TV watcher. It’s very quiet and wholesome, but lovely. I really give a lot during the day, so it’s just about downtime. IR: When you’re reading books and listening to podcasts, is it just for fun, or is it about business?  EL: I love learning and I’m fascinated with what makes people tick, life hacks and lessons learned along the way, so I love audiobooks about people. I’m big on personal growth and development and improving.