A. At the age of 27, I had worked my way up in the retail business to become a VP at a national chain. I was at the point where I felt that if I could help make money for others, why not make it for myself as an entrepreneur? I looked into retail-related businesses and concluded that I had the knowledge base to understand what a retailer needed for success. It is all about having the right people to get you there. Given those factors, establishing an executive recruiting firm specializing in the retail industry seemed like the most logical route to fulfill that entrepreneurial desire.
Q. Did any experiences from your life affect your decision?
A. I always felt that I understood talent and how to attract talent to the retailers I had worked for. This industry is a natural because of my innately being a retailer.
Q. Where did you go to school, and how was that experience?
A. I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. That experience gave me the ability to understand how other companies, including manufacturers and retailers, operate.
Q. After you graduated from college or trade school, what did you do?
A. I started in retailing, working in the corporate offices of department and specialty store chains. During those first 10 years, my responsibilities included the areas of stores, merchandising, and planning and allocation.
Q. What was your career path after that, and how did it lead to your current position?
A. My experiences at those companies during the first stage of my career gave me the confidence that I had the first-hand knowledge of retailing required to start up a recruiting firm serving the industry.
Q. Can you discuss some of your most memorable or notable career accomplishments or projects?
A. In growing the business I had the opportunity to meet Leslie Wexner, the chairman and founder of the Limited Brands Corporation. We met in the early 1980s when the company had about 200 stores and was about to embark on an explosive growth plan. I am very proud that we had the opportunity to be part of that growth by placing over 300 executives with the company over the years. That ability to learn from one of the most progressive retailers gave us the springboard to our own growth as well as the entrée to many other retailers looking for our services.
Q. Can you describe some experiences or lessons that have taught you the most and explain why?
A. Early in my career as an executive recruiter, I learned that to be an active listener was what a client really wanted. Along with that, of course, clients want recruiters who are perennial "students" of the retail, catalogue, and e-commerce industries and can look objectively at clients' needs. Those lessons have given me the opportunity to be a confidant and an ear for many retailers.
Q. Have you had any mentors or influential colleagues during your career? If so, can you please explain why they played such great roles?
A. Meeting the retailers who have grown their businesses from nothing inspired me. Those people included Sam Walton, Les Wexner, Milton Petrie, and Charles Lazarus.
Q. What type of advice can you offer to young professionals in your field who are just starting out in their careers?
A. Our industry has unlimited potential and respect if you approach it in a professional way. It does not happen overnight. Always be a student and do more than what is expected and clients will find you.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I bike, play golf and tennis, as well as travel and read.
Q. What CD is in your CD player right now?
A. Frank Sinatra.
Q. What is the last magazine you read?
A. Travel and Leisure.
Q. What is your favorite TV show?
A. Burn Notice.
Q. Who is your role model?
A. Warren Buffett.
''Lloyd Lippman is CEO of Career Management, an executive search firm serving the retail, e-commerce and catalog industries with offices in New York City and East Brunswick, NJ. He can be contacted at LaLippman@careers4retail.com or through the firm's website: www.careers4retail.com.''
