In just five short years Dublin-based Claudia Gocoul has pivoted from fashion editor to retail guru, a switch she never imagined. She speaks to Jennifer Stevens about her career so far...

Pivot has been a key word of the pandemic with careers shifting and dreams dashed or realised. One woman who definitely knows the meaning of pivot is Claudia Gocoul, Head of Retail for Europe and the UK with Spotlight Oral Care. She started her career in journalism and fashion before finding herself in a role she would never have imagined ten years ago. 

“I still have the biggest imposter syndrome on a daily basis. To be quite honest, I didn’t have a plan and I still don't know what my plan is. I just take it as it goes. I think if you're open to opportunities, and you're willing to step outside of your comfort zone, you never know where you could end up. I don't know what I'll be doing in five years’ time, but I hope it's something that I enjoy and something that I'm continuing to grow and learn from.”

Running retail operations for a global brand is not something Claudia ever imagined she would be doing but she’s a big believer in challenging yourself and being open to opportunities. 

“I did Journalism in DCU. I interned whilst I was in college in a media group and then worked in a magazine, first as editorial assistant, and then as fashion editor. Within that role, I suppose you think of fashion shoots and catwalk shows and you’d be right but obviously, a magazine is a business too. There was a hell of a lot of commercial responsibility that fell on me as fashion editor to try and bolster the revenue of the magazine and I found that I really enjoyed that side. It wasn’t something that I'd ever considered and didn’t know was an option. I didn't think it would be something that played to my talents but I really enjoyed it and so I left magazines to go freelance.  I had a lot of brands coming to me for advice and I found myself doing a mix of the creative and the commercial side of things for them.”

Starting out with a portfolio of clients Claudia soon had an offer of a permanent position with Marissa Carter, one of the best know women in Irish beauty.

“Initially I worked with I think five or six core clients freelance. But as time went on one brand I was working with was taking up about 50% of my week. That was Cocoa Brown and we were working so closely at that point Marissa invited me to come in full-time. I was a bit hesitant at first because I had a lot of freedom in the way I was working but she understood that and offered to create a role that would be the perfect amalgamation of both the creative and commercial side. I had been with Coco for two years when Marissa decided to develop Carter Beauty. She had always wanted to start a cosmetics line that filled a gap in the market in that same way that Coco Brown had for tan, and I went with her to do that. 

“We developed 103 products for Carter Beauty, and it definitely played into my creative skills, but once it was ready, you create a brand to sell. The commercial side of things took over and it was a very steep learning curve, to say the least. I didn't know what margin was. I didn't know what a listing fee was.”

Carter Beauty took off incredibly well, not just in Ireland but globally, and before Claudia left, the brand was on the shelves of Walmart in the US and Boots in the UK. But it was time for another challenge and at the start of this year, Claudia joined Spotlight Oral Care, an Irish, women-led business disrupting the dental care market. 

“I’ve developed a hunger for learning over the years. It's always great to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and learn something new so when the opportunity for Spotlight came, I jumped at it. I still have a fantastic relationship with everyone at Coco and Carter and can lean on them whenever I do need support or have a wobble. Marissa has been a fantastic mentor to me and that's something that I try to pass on as well.” 

Joining a new company in a pandemic can be tricky and Claudia hasn’t met most of her own team, never mind those in the wider business but it’s important, she says, to make time for personal conversations to build those relationships. 

“I started in January, and I haven't met my team. Of course, we have daily calls, everybody has a fantastic relationship and Lisa and Vanessa [Spotlight Oral Care founders Dr Lisa and Dr Vanessa Creavan] do a lot to nurture company culture, marking wins and successes and looping up as a group. But I don't know how tall anyone is. I don't know if people wear heels or trainers. It's such a strange time to have moved and I felt it at the beginning. I definitely questioned myself a lot more than I would have if I was in an office. But this is the new normal and we all have to make the most of it. I think it’s important to not make every conversation work related. You still need to have a chat and meet everyone and get to know them on a human level.”

Mentorship and the support of other women in business are hugely important to Claudia and is, she says, the key to her being able to pivot her career. 

“There are loads of women who have helped me within different parts of business. Of course, there’s Marissa, we worked side by side for four years, we have a great relationship and she's a fantastic support. And now there’s Lisa and Vanessa in Spotlight who are incredible and really great at giving me the autonomy to do what I do. But there are so many women in the industry and in my friendships who are incredibly talented and have been absolutely instrumental in my career.”

Claudia also believes that mentorship stretches to supporting yourself and believing in what you’re doing. “As women we have to learn to be vocal and our achievements. We’re all so shy about shouting about what we do. Irish women are the least begrudging people to others, we’d give all the advice and information we have but we’re very begrudging to ourselves and we have to learn to change.”