A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the COO of Club Monaco Robbin Mitchell as part of Daria Burke‘s Black MBA Women‘s dinner at the 21 Club in New York.
Daria and I met last year at another event, and I remember being struck by her poise, so when she invited me to photograph her event, I knew it would be a well planned, seamless event. What I didn’t expect was that I would walk away from the event being inspired and enlightened to more effectively position myself as a leader.
The keynote speaker of the event was Robbin Mitchell, the COO of Club Monaco. Before joining the Ralph Lauren Corporation , she was the Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff at Ralph Lauren, reporting directly to Roger Farah. Robbin began her career at Ralph Lauren in 2001 as Vice President, Wholesale Replenishment for the Polo Brands Wholesale Division. She also spent 10 years as a management consultant and investment banker at McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group and Lehman Brothers, and has a BA from Stanford University and a Harvard MBA. Overall, Robbin knows what it takes to lead, manage and get to the top and she very candidly shared her thoughts over dinner at the 21 Club.
Although I’m no longer working in corporate, Robbin’s advice was still very relevant. She told the small group about her journey to the position of Senior Vice President, Chief of staff at Ralph Lauren, reporting directly to Roger Farah and eventually the COO of Club Monaco. Most importantly she spoke about owning who you are and showing up 100% every time physically, mentally and emotionally so other’s can take note of you, your gifts and talents.
I loved how Robbin sat down at each table for dinner and made herself accessible and open to everyone’s thoughts and questions. It was a wonderful evening in New York, and I especially enjoyed capturing Robbin sharing her knowledge and the the “aha” lightbulb moments going for each lady.
