Earlier in his career, Kristof Neirynck was told that he was “too nice” to ever be a leader. Now, as CEO of Avon, he holds ultimate responsibility for a company that made $2.5bn (£2bn) in revenue last year, operates in 40 countries and has 3 million representatives that facilitate its direct-selling business model.
After his first four months in the role, Neirynck reflects on the differences between the CMO role, which he held previously, and that of chief executive and explains how he hopes his unique approach to leadership can help turn around the company’s fortunes.
What do you think makes a good leader?
There are three aspects to this. The first one is that a leader needs to be able to make the complex simple. The ability to take a complicated strategy and simplify it, so the organisation has a clear vision to follow, is the most important.
The second aspect is making sure that you’re approachable as a leader. One of my core principles is humble leadership – you need to be a good listener. You need to create an environment of psychological safety which allows anyone to come up with a solution to a problem, without being shot down. This is the only way to create an environment that encourages growth.
The last bit is one of my mantras. I like to take a good dose of risk, otherwise I would probably not be in this role. A good leader needs to be able to take bold, sometimes risky decisions. These still need to be well-informed but a leader who always plays it safe is unlikely to break the mould.
What excites you most about your new role as Avon CEO?
For me, it’s about the ability to grow a business that has a great purpose at its core. We’re helping to provide earning opportunities to millions of women across the world, from the Philippines to South Africa.
I want to give Avon another lease of life because this company carries such a lot of meaning and purpose for so many. It’s up to me to make sure the brand continues for another 100 years – and that’s what gets me out of bed every morning.
What’s the biggest difference between being a CMO and CEO?
There are a lot of similarities. Whenever you’re in a leadership role, you need to think about your strategy. But I now have to spend much more time on the fundamentals of the business. People and culture have also become much more prominent in my thinking.
Perhaps the biggest change has been stakeholder management. You go from having one boss, the CEO, to having the whole board evaluating your work. They’re not always necessarily aligned, so it makes it more challenging.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Swing big. Always ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that can happen if this goes wrong? This changes your mindset to innovation and encourages you to embrace change. As a leader, I like to drive change.
Which book do you think every business leader should read at least once?
I’m not a huge fan of management books. But one that helped me a lot in developing my leadership style, was Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins. One of the concepts in the book is the ‘level five leader’ which explores the idea that the most successful companies are not necessarily the ones with leaders who have complete control or pretend to know all the answers.
The level five leadership style involves a lot of listening and is much more collaborative, rather than always having to be the person leading from the front. This truly inspired me because I never thought leadership was one of my strengths but I managed to find my personal style reflected in this book.
How has your concept of leadership changed?
I always wondered whether I truly had what it takes to be a leader because I had always followed in the footsteps of quite loud, alpha-male leaders. While I was brand manager, someone said I was too nice to ever be a vice-president.
It made me question how we define great leadership. As a CEO, you want people to be willing to run through brick walls for you. And not because you tell them to go through the brick wall, but just because they believe they can. They do it because they believe in the vision and feel energised enough to go the extra mile. For that, you don’t necessarily need to be loud or an alpha-male, you need to create great followership. That helped to reframe the whole conversation for me.
What qualities do you look for in an Avon employee?
We look for people who have their heart in the right place and buy into our purpose. But we also want people who are willing to take risks. People who just want to copy whatever has been done in the past are probably not the right hires.
I think it’s important to bring in people who have an external perspective. Particularly in the beauty industry, it’s important to be in touch with what’s going on in the wider world and to be able to spot the trends. This company needs people who are open and innovative.
Last, but not least, you need a bit of grit, because a turnaround isn’t an easy thing. So you need people who are resilient and who keep going despite any setbacks.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
There’s nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes there are problems in business but it’s rarely anything that’s worth losing sleep over. And again, I’d say swing big because that’s ultimately how you make the biggest impact on a business.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I’ve learned something important from every job that I’ve had. Some people really didn’t enjoy working on licensed businesses, such as Gucci, at Procter & Gamble because ultimately, a lot of the decisions there are made by the fashion house and your job is to try to influence them. But actually, for me, it served as a masterclass in influencing and it was my first foray into beauty, which has got me to where I am now.
Sometimes a job might not work out in the way you thought, but then you learn. When I was studying electronics engineering, I never thought my first job would involve translating tampon advertising. But it helped get me to where I am today. They’ve all been part of my journey so, in that sense, they were all valuable.
When I was 15 years old I took a job picking tomatoes to make a little bit of money. Did it make my nails bleed? Yes. But did it make me tougher and appreciate what I have now? Also yes. I like to think whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love sailing, although I don’t go as often as I’d like to. When you’re trying to get your sailing boat over the finish line first as part of a team and you’re trying to avoid being hit by the boom, you forget about everything else.
I also enjoy travelling but I like to keep active when I do. If I’m just lying on a beach, I find it hard to ignore my emails or the calls that come through.
I also love renovating properties and using my engineering skills to put in new electrics alongside my dad. I enjoy activities that are radically different to what I do at work because it helps me to completely disconnect.
