Felicity McGahan, Group CEO, Strand on following her generational calling into retail, traversing the globe to lead many flagship brands to success.

Felicity McGahan, Group CEO, Strand on following her generational calling into retail, traversing the globe to lead many flagship brands to success and the importance of the three Cs of leadership.

 

Key Insights

(01:46) How did Felicity start her leadership journey?

Straight after school, Felicity started working in Australian retail at Esprit as a store Manager. Felicity then got the opportunity to work overseas and relocated to the US to start a 20-year career with Gap. Felicity continued to move jobs throughout the US and the UK but missed Australia often, so she returned home to run the Sussan business, followed by Cotton On and now Strand.

(08:39) What lessons can Felicity share around being vulnerable and role modeling through leadership?

Felicity believes honesty is important. Especially with the amount of information available to everyone, you’ve got to be honest and true to your teams. Commit to taking them on the journey with you and explaining the why behind your decisions.

(20:45) What tool can Felicity share to the audience to add to their Leadership Toolbox?

Felicity shares, it’s all about the vision you set for yourself. She has a quote in her office that says, dream big, work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with great people. Felicity says it’s also a good framework for those at the beginning of their leadership journey.

 

Important Resources and Links

If you’d like to learn more about how CommBank is supporting the growth of women in business visit commbank.com.au/women-in-focus

Host of the Leading Women podcast, Shivani Gopal is a serial entrepreneur, speaker and advocate on a mission to create a more equal world. She’s recognised as a leading business thought leader helping professional women navigate their careers, businesses and financial success.

As the Founder and CEO of Elladex and Co-Founder of Upstreet, Shivani was recently awarded the 2022 NSW Excellence in Women's Leadership Award and the Top 50 Small Business Leaders award, As a dedicated advocate for gender equality and for closing the wealth gap for everyday Australians, Shivani launched “Equality 2050”; a campaign to achieve gender equality within our lifetimes. If you’re interested in learning more about Shivani visit her website: https://www.elladex.com.au/

The Leading Women podcast is proudly brought to you by Commonwealth Bank.  The series is produced by Nicole Hatherly, recorded at RadioHub Studios with post production by Cooper Silk and Iain Wilson.

Things you should know: Guests featured in the podcast are speaking from their personal experiences only. As this podcast has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the content consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. CommBank does not necessarily endorse the views of a particular individual or guarantee the accuracy of the information provided.