L’Oréal CMO Han Wen on The Power of Listening First

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

theSkimm

Entrepreneurship, Careers, Business

4.7 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Han Wen got a job at L’Oréal as an entry-level marketing associate, she didn’t even know what marketing was. The interviewers didn’t care. They spent the bulk of the interview talking about her bold outfit, which she got off the sales rack at J.Crew just an hour before. Fast forward to 2022, and Han became the CMO of L’Oréal USA at just 39-years-old. Talk about a full circle moment. Han shares how she made impressions throughout her corporate career, and how she’s gotten really good at listening – even when it might be hard to hear. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Han shares: Why her work stint in France was nothing like “Emily in Paris” The best lesson she learned about being a people manager What she focused on instead of chasing after titles during her career How having kids destroyed any illusion of control, and how it carries into her work Why L’Oréal encourages some rule-bending to make great products Follow Carly and Danielle on Instagram @carlyanddanielle, and be sure to subscribe the show so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Curry's Business.
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0:31.5	It was a really difficult, I think, transition for me to learn that in the beginning
0:35.2	to understand that not all questions mean that it is a criticism and that at the end of it, if you're able to go through this process
0:43.0	and debate, the outcome is actually better for everyone. I'm Carly Zakin, and I'm Danielle
0:49.4	Weissberg. Welcome to 9 to 5-ish with the skin. We've run into so many questions over the years and had so many moments where we needed advice,
0:59.5	and we got it from women who'd been there.
1:02.9	And that's what we're bringing you at this show.
1:05.0	Each week, we're helping you get what you want out of your career by talking to the smartest
1:09.3	leaders we know.
1:10.5	Because we know your work
1:12.0	life is a lot more than nine to five. All right, let's get into it. Hi, everyone. Today, our guest is
1:20.4	Han Wen, the chief digital and marketing officer of L'Oreal USA. Han studied at Brown University
1:26.0	before entering the beauty industry in the early 2000s.
1:29.3	She started out as Laurel as a marketing associate and briefly worked within Keels, which is one of
1:35.2	36 brands under the L'Oreal umbrella. Han then worked at LVMH and afterwards at Clarence, where
	...

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