history with the company and explained how it has ultimately made her a more proficient leader in the retail space. Inside Retail: What marked your official start in the world of retail and how did you land your current role with H&M? Linda Li: I started my career off in consulting. I worked at Boston Consulting Group right after college and I loved it. I love strategic thinking and problem-solving and all of that, but I think what I realised when I was in consulting is that I get a sense of fulfillment in seeing the implementation and the end result out of a strategy. That was kind of my push to enter into a real, for lack of a better word, business. After consulting, I moved to merchandising and brand development for Bath & Body Works within the home fragrance space. This was also fantastic because it was really a mix of creativity and analytics. Then I met somebody who worked at H&M and told me about the company.  From a personal perspective, I was already an H&M customer, so of course I was immediately interested. Even more so when they told me about the company culture. For such a massive global organisation, it many ways it is structured almost like a startup. It has this mentality that the best idea wins and the best idea can come from anywhere and anyone.  IR: You’ve worn a lot of different hats during your more than 10-year career with H&M, including merchandising manager, head of store development and head of e-commerce. What gave you the confidence to lead in areas where you did not have the most direct, hands-on experience beforehand? LL: The very first time I did that, going from merchandising into expansion, I was quite nervous about it. It was one of those things that made me question myself the most because up until then, when I had led teams it was as somebody who had been in that division beforehand.  As you progress in your career I think you have to get more and more comfortable leading in areas you don’t know much about.  So to answer your question, it was more about coming in and being humble enough to say that I don’t know all of the answers. So what I am going to do, for a period of time, is to learn as much as possible by setting up many meetings with people in the team and within the industry. It’s not necessarily having confidence at the beginning, but more about being curious, asking questions, learning and, over time, utilising what I am good at to tie it to the bigger picture and to then guide the team and the strategy going forward.  IR: Many people still view retail as a temporary job, not a longterm career. What is about this industry that drives you? LL: I love how people have a special connection with their clothing. It’s something that has the ability to make them feel fantastic about themselves and I just love the emotional resonance of fashion. I am also really into human psychology, it was one of my favourite courses in college.  There’s something super interesting about the psychology behind why a consumer loves a brand, why they stay with a brand, what makes them a more or less valuable customer, and so forth. Professionally, that is something that I just really enjoy as well. IR: What advice would you give someone just starting out in the industry and perhaps trying to emulate where you are today?  LL: I would say that retail is a combination of creativity and analytics.  It is also one of those businesses where strategy is nothing, if it isn’t executed well, so leaning into both parts of that equation is highly important.  I would also say that with consumer-facing business it is important to spend time getting to know what the customer wants. Whether it is spending time in the stores, attending focus groups, or whatever it is you need to do. Really getting a sense of what the customer wants is the foundation of retail.  IR: Outside of work, I am passionate about… LL: Well, I have two kids, so I think my passion right now is just spending as much time with them as possible, and really diving into their passions as well. For example, right now my older son is an avid soccer player, so I spend my weekends on the soccer field, getting myself excited about his soccer games. Just fueling his passions and enabling his motivations, that’s what I love right now. IR: What was the last item you picked up from H&M? LL: (Laughs) A super cute cardigan that has little cute dogs on it. The funny thing about it is that it’s from our kids’ collection. We just launched a new kids and baby brand called Adorables, with elegant, elevated pieces made of premium fabrics. The size goes up to a size 10 for 10-year-olds and I’m just a very petite woman, so I can easily fit into this piece. But I think it really makes a great statement about how fashion can be from anywhere and any place to self-express in whatever way you want.