Shelley Watkins recently joined our team as a Director. To get to know her a little better, we sat down to ask her a few questions about herself.
Welcome to the TGG team! Tell us a bit about yourself.
As a native of Trinidad & Tobago, my family and I immigrated to the United States during my teen years. As expected, adjusting to a new culture and school system was challenging, but it was in this transition I discovered my passion for modern dance and ballet. Dance served as a way of artistic expression for me and a necessary outlet for my creativity. While my initial career goals were to follow my passion by becoming a dance teacher, a knee injury sidelined this dream which led me to pivot into a less physically demanding career path.
I attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and attained my BS in Business Administration. After five years of working in the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Admissions department, I made the decision to become a career-switcher by pursuing my MBA at The University of Wisconsin, Madison with a specialization in Brand Management.
While you hear a lot about being the ‘Hub of the Wheel’ when you manage a brand, it was the consumer connection to brands and products that made me fall in love with my new career. I started my brand management career in CPG at Kimberly-Clark where I worked on iconic brands like Depend, Scott & Viva paper towels. As an avid “Foodie,” I transitioned into the F&B industry where I worked on the Sister Schubert’s brand team at T. Marzetti.
Throughout my time on these brands, I developed a passion for learning as much as I could about our consumers. I loved participating in research that allowed us to understand how we could continue improving the lives of our consumers with every possible opportunity. Making decisions with a consumer-first mindset has become second nature to me as it has been an insightful experience learning about the similarities and differences of consumer needs, desires, and behaviors across different categories.
What is your role, and responsibilities within that role?
As Director, Lean Growth my responsibilities include leading business development efforts with F500 accounts; designing a customized approach to help clients find solutions for their business challenges, and leading client engagements. I’m excited to partner with clients as we navigate today’s and tomorrow’s market challenges together.
How do you best face uncertain challenges in your life?
I naturally enjoy problem-solving and welcome uncertain challenges that force me out of my comfort zone. Before diving in, I create a plan to assess the situation and ensure that I understand the key problem to solve. Once I have a clear layout of the situation I begin generating possible solutions and alternatives before making a final decision. I have yet to find a problem that a ‘pros vs. cons’ comparison couldn’t help resolve.
Our team has grown in the last year, with many new entrepreneurial-minded leaders added to our mission of helping corporates solve their uncertain challenges. Hop on over to our teams page to learn more >>>
