055 | A Trailblazing Path in the Luxury World with Marty Wikstrom
Marty Wikstrom is a founding partner of Atelier Fund, an organization that specializes in the acquisition and development of luxury brands. She is a seasoned brand and retail executive with over three decades of experience in executive roles. She serves as a board director for the World Wide Web Foundation, Fortnum & Mason, Johnstons of Elgin, the Rug Company, Farrow & Ball, and Harrys of London, Ltd. Marty has also served as the Managing Director and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Harrods, making her their only female director in 182 years of business.
Marty joins us today to share her remarkable journey in retail and leadership. You’ll hear about her background and how her passion for sports, fashion, and leadership eventually led her to the world of luxury goods. She outlines the lessons she learned from being a part of a complex organization in the retail and fashion industry. You’ll also gain insight on the importance of overcoming the fear of failure and the power of curiosity and hard work.
“It wasn’t competing against others but competing against myself—and a standard of excellence—that mattered to me.”
- Marty Wikstrom
This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:
● The five-year-old Marty Wikstrom and her remarkable journey in retail and leadership
● Her early interest in fashion, sports, and leadership
● How expectations of women and girls have changed over time
● Marty’s post-college career track to Nordstrom
● Why Marty stayed with Nordstrom for over 20 years
● What merchandising and sell-through mean
● Marty’s move to England and becoming Assistant Managing Director at Harrods
● The most difficult change Marty made at Harrods
● The difference between an entrepreneurial and a public company
● What it’s like to be a business leader in the hyper luxury world
● The NASA of watchmaking and what luxury means to Marty
● Unconscious bias and what it’s like to be the only woman in a boardroom
● Marty’s move to launch her own fund for developing luxury brands
● Why Marty feels happy about women entering leadership roles in organizations today
Our Favorite Quotes:
● “When you look around in a room and no one looks like you, it might be by design.” - Marty Wikstrom
● “The things that sustained me in my life are extreme curiosity and hard work.” - Marty Wikstrom
Connect with Marty Wikstrom:
● World Wide Web Foundation on LinkedIn
● World Wide Web Foundation on Twitter
● World Wide Web Foundation on Facebook
Spaceship Not Required
I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.
I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.
In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are… spaceship not required.
Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.