Elana Drell-Szyfer – General Manager/CEO, Ahava North America

By Caroline Cox

[Editor’s note: At the time of this interview, Drell-Szyfer was Senior Vice President of Estee Lauder.]

Since January, Elana Drell-Szyfer has visited Vienna, Los Angeles, Milan, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Shanghai.  She and her team just returned from Paris, her second time this year.  As Senior Vice President of the $2 billion iconic beauty brand, Estee Lauder, jet-setting is not just a job perk, but it’s key to understanding consumers and connecting with distributors.  Drell-Szyfer’s team includes specialists in skincare, makeup, fragrance, digital marketing and new media. The Columbia University graduate is also the mother of three little girls, ages 8, 7 and 3.  Drell-Szyfer, who also worked for Avon and Lancôme, says she’s most passionate about helping women feel beautiful – inside and out.

Here, she talks to PINK about staying authentic in the workplace, her secrets to excelling in business while raising kids – and what beauty means to her.

PINK: At what moment did you know you wanted to be in the beauty business?
EDS: People have different philosophies about what it means to be a good marketer. Some think, if you’re a good marketer, you can market anything. Others believe you have to be passionate about what you are marketing.  I couldn’t market something I didn’t believe in or have a natural affinity for.  I got into the beauty business by accident, but once I was in, I knew that I had found my place.

PINK: How do you maintain your authenticity in the workplace?
EDS: The one thing that’s different about this industry, which may be why I like it so much, is that it’s not male-dominated.  It’s a very different environment. We’re 75 to 80 percent women. I am authentic because I’m not one person at work and a different person at home. I don’t know how to live that duality.

PINK: What’s your leadership style?
EDS: I have this drive to produce the best outcome, but I like to work with people who have a strong point of view.  I might seem very serious and fact-based.  But, once you get to know me, you find out I really like to laugh.  My mind is always looking for the joke, and I try to add levity to difficult situations to make people feel at ease. Some days you can feel the pressure and tension in the air.  That’s when my “funny” reflexes kick in – to help myself and my staff keep perspective. Life is a lot nicer when you can laugh and be kind. You always take your baggage with you.  Sometimes, when you’re in the middle of a problem, it’s hard to see your way out.  Give yourself distance and then come back to it.

PINK: You always had mentors – what did you learn from them?
EDS: Everybody needs a mentor, and I’ve always looked for somebody who could help me see the things I don’t see on my own.  My first mentor [I had] was my father.  He trained me to work hard.  And I had a great boss who said that spending time at work and at home needs to be like a bank: whatever you take out needs to be put back.

PINK: How is it working at such a successful company started by iconic top businesswoman Estee Lauder?
EDS: What I appreciate about working at Estee Lauder is that I never feel embarrassed to say I’ll be late one morning because I’m attending a school play or concert.  I work with so many mothers and, in a way, we make it easier for the fathers too who say they’re leaving early to attend a game.  It’s not that we don’t work hard and that deadlines don’t get met, but there is such an emphasis on it being a “family company,” there is an acceptance of family life.  We are lucky to have the story of Estee Lauder as entrepreneur and businesswoman for inspiration.

PINK: What’s your latest standout marketing success?
EDS: This year we re-introduced Advanced Night Repair, the original night serum launched 27 years ago.  As a result our skincare category is growing more than 17% this year globally.

PINK: What’s your success secret?
EDS: Recognize that different people bring different things to the table. It’s not about one person.

PINK: How do you handle the Life/Work balance, while raising three little girls?
EDS: You need your family to be supportive – not just your spouse.  It helps when there’s no one judging you, because you need people around you who can pitch-hit when you need them. It’s more challenging as your children get older.  Younger children have more physical requirements, but older children have more emotional requirements.  Today, kids go through a lot and they need someone there.  That’s not something you can delegate to someone who isn’t their parent. Being able to shut off from work issues and devote my attention allows me clarity.

PINK: What is the hardest thing about raising young children while trying to excel at work?
EDS: It’s time, juggling and the prioritization.  When you’re a leader or a parent, you don’t want to disappoint anybody.  You want to dedicate time to everyone.  The hardest thing to do is not choosing what to do, but what not to do.  I often have to choose, and sometimes I get it wrong.  The hardest thing to learn is what you will opt out of, where you will not go and where you will not be.  I hope 98 percent of the time I pick the right thing.

PINK: How often do you travel?
EDS: One of the most challenging parts of having a global job is the travel.  I love to travel to other countries and cultures.  I speak a few languages which I love to practice, but I can’t say it’s easy on my family or that it’s not disruptive because it is.  I try to teach my children something about the places I’ve been and they’re interested in learning about different cultures.  I hope to stay on the ground for at least the next six weeks.

PINK: How do your consumers vary globally?
EDS: What strikes me about the lives women lead today is how similar they are around the world.  The life of a working woman in Shanghai is not that different from a working woman in San Francisco.  Women want to feel good about themselves – that’s universal.

PINK: What do you do in your free time?
EDS: I enjoy yoga, talking with my kids, watching funny movies with my husband, and seeing art exhibits.  To rejuvenate myself, I like to read or listen to relaxing music.  Sometimes, early in the morning, I take time to myself and think.

PINK: What does beauty mean to you?
EDS: It’s about defining your balance in your life between – what you believe on the inside and what you do on the outside.  When you feel satisfied with what you’ve accomplished, it changes your perspective – you look better.

PINK: Any last minute advice?
EDS: A little humility goes a long way.

PINK: Who is your personal heroine?
EDS: My mother.  She got married at a young age but waited a long time to have children.  She finished graduate school and went back to class six weeks after I was born.  She always works – starting from the late ’60s to this day, while commuting and raising three children.  Now that I do it, too, I realize what a challenge it is.  At least I have friends and colleagues who have the same challenges because I doubt my mother had any type of support network.  What I know is this: I never heard her complain, she never seemed to have any regrets, and she still stayed up all night helping us type our paper. What feels natural to me only feels that way because, like all children, I learned by watching someone else do it first.