Harbus

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News

When asked about the one thing she wished she knew while at HBS, Katlyn Gao responded without hesitation: "I wish I paid more attention in LEAD class!" In addition to managing colleagues at Coach with vastly different experiences from her own, Gao stated that she has become even more humble and has learned to listen more than to speak. "The product is the bread and butter of the company," and she advised that students should learn as much about the product as possible.

These three women exposed some of the harsher realities of the luxury fashion and beauty industries. Yet, by virtue of their challenges and marked success in a highly competitive and frankly "catty" industry, Melamed, Ruisanchez and Gao further encouraged myself and fellow students to break into the creative. The take-away: there is hope for the creative-spirit that lies in many of us with similar aspirations. As she has herself done at Coach, Gao encouraged us to allow "[our] trays of creativity to take over the analytics."

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