Jennifer Elmashni is the Vice President of Global eCommerce and Digital Marketing at BIC International, responsible for the development of BIC’s overarching Digital Center of Expertise. She leads a team responsible for deploying strategies and capabilities to scale BIC’s connection to consumers and shoppers through digital channels around the world and leading expansion of BIC’s largest growth engine, eCommerce.

Prior to joining BIC, Jen was the Head of U.S. eCommerce & Digital Sales for Johnson & Johnson, delivering year-over-year growth for all of Health and Beauty categories across social, digital and retail media platforms and achieving +65% point of sales growth. 

Jen started her career in management consulting with IBM and Booz & Company and started her eCommerce journey with Walmart.com just prior to joining J&J.  She holds a Bachelor of Art degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Art degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Her most notable accomplishment is being a mom to Mazen (6) and Leilani (2), and Casino (furry 4 legged 8 yr old).

Why did you choose to pursue eCommerce in your career? My very first exposure to eCommerce was with Walmart.com, being part of the original US online grocery delivery pilot in San Jose California – back then it was called “Walmart ToGo”. I loved the dynamic nature of so many unknowns, ability to shape something that was ever evolving and dynamic, and feeling like you could always work on something that would never be static. The idea of “maintaining” things scared me – because my passion was breaking things, building things, and solving really tough challenges….10+ years latter – eCommerce still has never made me face the idea of “maintaining” anything – because just as you set one solution, everything changes and you have to figure out what the next best solution is…for now :-). 

What is your biggest strength, and how have you used it for your success in eCommerce? My digital superpower is endless ENGERGY! In this industry it requires a mindset of endless possibilities and “glass half full” approaches no matter what curve balls get thrown your way. It is natural to feel like when you’re at the forefront of leading an eCommerce agenda no matter what seat you’re leading it from – the hamster wheel effect can be a daily routine. You find yourself repeating conversations trying to explain things that seem so clear to you but may not be the case for others. Asking for trust doesn’t come easy when you need a chance to prove things out, but ENGERY  to rally a vision has been my saving grace to get others to follow along to be a part of creating and delivering against an eCommerce agenda. 

What is the weirdest skill or talent to come in handy in your eCommerce experience? My weirdest skill is MYSELF! I am a self-proclaimed quirky bird and although it took me a little while to realize this was a talent that could serve me well – leading digital at BIC is like a match made in heaven! I am not afraid to show all facets of who I am and often times bring my real life stories as a mom with a 6 and 2 year old to help me break down eCommerce/digital principles and in a way that shows we’re all human and experience this stuff everyday. Although I’m sure my kids would hate the fact that I can’t help myself by tell stories about them – ehhhh – what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?  

How have you most successfully influenced change within your organization (or with your clients)? Since joining BIC, my first priority was to rally the global organization around a single focus to accelerate eCommerce.  It’s so easy to to get wrapped up in really complex, technical, details – which works for small start-ups. For a large CPG manufacturer – the art of change and #1 ingredient to success in influencing change …for me has been KISS – keeping it super simple. I’ve deployed a memorable, super simple eCommerce framework with an ambition that 100% of BIC global employees know it and can understand it. Of course I cheated a little with the backing and full support of my CEO who has reinforced the framework has helped a lot too :-). Starting here was like a domino effect – finding ever formal and informal influencer in the organization to make the framework stick like glue, soon I started hearing references to it, seeing plans against it – all because it was really simple for everyone remember.  

What was your most “valuable” career failure, and why? More than 10 years ago, when I knew I wanted to get into digital being a SF bay area native, I made a very unexpected career choice – I joined Walmart vs Google. One would think that after many rounds of interviews with Google, at the time their interview process was gnarly and seemed like no amount of preparation could save me from being stumped one round to the next. But I passed! Just at the same I was having conversations with Walmart.com. At the time I always made decision with my head – never gut, never heart, ALWAYS very calculated, linear moves. The move to Walmart.com seemed so logical – do eCommerce with the backing of the largest global retailer. Although it was a fun ride, I couldn’t quite get it out of my mind that I wanted a digital native experience – despite not going to google – so honestly no matter how much I could have continue to grow and learn at Walmart.com, I struggled and left only after a year. Why this was the most valuable career failure was that it led me to making my next move with my heart – joined a digital start-up in SF, which ended up being one of the best experiences of my life! Despite the start-up crashing after 6 months along with 99% of the team – in those 6 months I learned how to unwind traditional corporate ways that taught me to lead with my head. I learned that in creating new waves in digital requires a BALANCE of head, heart, gut and COURAGE to just try, go fast, fail fast, learn and do it again. My family still thinks I’m crazy – but best learning experience ever that I wouldn’t have chosen the path any differently. 

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior or habit has most improved your life? I’ve grown up so much as a leader – which in the digital arena can be extra tough because there is never a clear cut “right” or “silver bullet” path.  It can be exhausting and easy to get deflated at time. So the biggest behavior I’ve embodied is being ok to just be myself – which require less energy being someone I’m not and finding my inner “happy” to fuel energy needed to lead through change. I was so fortunate to cross paths with a leader during my time at J&J who caught glimpses of the real me, although I’d do everything in my power to be a leader that I thought others needed to see to be successful. He celebrated the times I showed more of my personal side, which the more I showed, the more I realized I connected with others and teams would follow and I was genially happy leading tough change. Now I remind myself never lose sight of that and celebrate others in the same way!

What are you learning right now? I’m learning how to navigate cultural nuances and learning to be a change agent translator when the only language I speak is English! Being a global change agent, I often times will see conflict arise with cultural styles clash and get in the way of being grounded on a common goal. I find myself doing a lot of listening, letting go of healthy/necessary swirl, and replaying simple frameworks to keep that common set of priorities as a the language everyone speaks. 

What are the 1-3 songs that would make up your career soundtrack today?

• Run the World – Girls by Beyonce is my hands down #1 top choice here. I would have this repeat on all 10 spots of the album. Although a bit of an overt women’s empowerment message, the mantra for me is more of a reminder that we’re all unstoppable and can conquer our biggest ambitions if we just set our minds to it (and have a good catchy beat behind it)! 

What are the 1-3 books you’ve gifted the most or that have greatly influenced your life, and why?

• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne: It’s an oldie but goodie and has made the most lasting impression…It’s been a repeat for me many times as a way to remind me on the simple grounding of….put out there what you want to receive back. It helped me exercise the power of always giving out positive energy and in return get great positive momentum on any life adventure! Still works like a charm today!  

If you could have a gigantic billboard for the world to see with anything on it, what would it say, and why? My billboard would say “what you see is what you get.” 

It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable in my skin – I talk with my hands, I have the most uncontrollable facial expressions (horrible poker player), I have a huge collection of crazy colorful sneakers, and I love to tell stories to make a point. In the early part of my career I hid all of this – I wore black power suits, pumps, and kept my approach very “corporate” – or at least a version back then that I thought was necessary at “corporate”.  After learning to let loose, being more of me – now there’s no going back!  🙂

What are the worst recommendations or advice you have heard related to eCommerce? Call me biased, but so often I hear – we can figure it out and do it ourselves. When it comes to eCommerce – it takes a village and I’m a BIG fan on the balance of leaning on experts and over time building operational models to take on things internally.   

What advice would you give to a future leader of change about to enter business, or specifically the eCommerce field? Be a lifelong learner and never think you’ve solved “it”. In a blink of an eye things change in eCommerce – the fastest way to become irrelevant if you approach it like you know it all as the end all, be all “expert”. I see this as a big game of who can learn, apply, and evolve the fastest – meanwhile whoever can rally around that same approach with the most important of evolving – will be who stands out in front of the pack! 

What specific, industry-related change do you believe will happen that few others seem to see? Oooo this is a tough one and a GREAT question!!! Ironically because of the nature of how digital makes every move seem like everyone can see things so clearly from a mile away….one hypothesis I have is that Amazon and Walmart as two of the largest global conglomerates will join forces for world domination. Imagine the power of two of the largest world enemies in the industry join forces to knock other players out of the water – WOW – now, THAT would be crazy! Imagine a landscape with no club, pharmacy, specialty retailers…..you might ask what would they call themselves if they did join forces….my bet would be “ALL-MA-ZART” (ok, I know, weak sauce name – but there’s a reason why I’ve never been in brand marketing)

What is the last thing you bought online, and why? This COVID-19 quarantine period has accelerated one of my core parental duties that I still have battle wounds from my older son….potty training! My last purchase was a hot pink training potty and peppa pig training underwear on Amazon for my 2-year old daughter. We had to accelerate her potty training because we couldn’t find any diapers in her size in-stock ANYWHERE and our favorite baby wipes kept going out of stock as well. So, let the potty training begin!!:-)

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First Movers is a change leader interview series featuring select industry pioneers who are boldly driving the evolution of digital commerce, the consumer and everything in between.