Carrie Kirkman – (em)Power Suit

Carrie Kirkman, President of Jones Group Canada, on creativity, finding your core, and the responsibility of senior executive women to mentor the next generation of femail leaders.

By Carolyn Patricia Grisold
Photography by Kourosh Keshiri

William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “To thine own self be true,” but what if you have not yet found that true self? For Carrie Kirkman, President of Jones Group Canada, defining her inner core proved to be one of the most valuable professional lessons she’s learnt. “Having a strong core means I remain true to myself,” Kirkman says. “Understanding that I am not defined by other people’s opinion of me, that who I am doesn’t change in relation to a job or other people, was very important.”

Beginning her career in the fashion industry as a model in her early 20s, Kirkman worked in Europe, Montreal and Toronto. This opportunity opened the door for her to step into the corporate side, and in doing so, Kirkman found a love for the business of fashion.“I was attracted to the combination of art and creativity balanced with business,” she says. “I am drawn to the yin-yang of this industry.”

Her first role was in wholesale, managing a sales agency that represented Alfred Sung and Ports International at the height of their success in Canada. “The passion that I developed at this time made work feel less like a job, and more like a mission,” she recalls. Kirkman’s work is her passion. And it was this strong work ethic that helped her to make the move from wholesale to retail, which is not common in the fashion industry.

“I have not always been the most obvious candidate for a role,” Kirkman says. “I am often the round peg in a square hole.” Fortuitously, her opportunities in the industry have come from companies looking for
change, and so she was able to embrace her differences and use them to succeed. “I learnt that there isn’t just one right way to do something.”

This challenge created steep learning curves for Kirkman along her career path, to which she equates a climb up Mount Everest. Through each experience she discovers that the really tough part of the climb doesn’t last
forever. The first six months in any new role can be particularly daunting, but experience has taught her to take it one step at a time until you arrive at that moment (“and you will!”) when you realize just how much you’ve learned. It’s at that moment you know you’ve laid a solid foundation and you’re ready to take on more.

Finding that core, and staying true to yourself, is something that Kirkman encourages female leaders to strive for. It is what keeps her standing strong and focused on goals and priorities, never mind the distractions. “When you know your worth,” Kirkman explains, “you know that even if your fit for a role changes, your value hasn’t.” Describing work cultures and fitting in like an organ transplant, she reiterates that it’s okay to feel different, “just not so different that the body rejects you.” Having personal boundaries is empowering, Kirkman believes. It allows you to make choices that are good for the business, and good for yourself. “I want to empower women to have this strong centre,” she says. “It’s our responsibility to mentor tomorrow’s female leaders.”

Through her own development there have been women that Kirkman found inspiring, and she looked up to them to determine which characteristics she wanted to emulate, and which she did not. “It’s not power in and of itself that I’m attracted to, it’s the influence that power provides [which] I find intriguing. It’s just a part of the package of success.” Kirkman is just as passionate about empowering other women in business as she is about creating success in her own career. “I fear mediocrity,” she says. “I strive to deliver great results; it’s in my DNA. I fully appreciate that personal success is often proportional to your contribution to the business.”

Crediting her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit for enabling her to remain flexible and not get buried in the process, Kirkman believes that anything is possible. “If you believe something is achievable, you will find
a way to make it work.”

This includes finding work-life balance. “What I do for a living is a huge part of who I am,” she says. “I am who I am at home because of who I am at work—and vice versa.”

“I am looking forward to a long and successful career,” Kirkman adds. And through her winning combination of passion, creativity and business savvy, she always returns to her inner core, her true self, to find strength when facing her next challenge.

What’s left to accomplish for Carrie Kirkman? “So much! I would like to know that I have contributed to the ongoing success of Jones New York as a leading global fashion company, and that I have been able to positively impact the business in Canada.” The Jones Group shares her passion for supporting women in business by offering start-up loans to female entrepreneurs, as well as their muchloved ‘Little Black Book of Career Advice,’ available on JNY.com and filled with inspirational quotes to empower confidence in the female leaders of today and tomorrow to achieve success. And when asked how she defines success for herself, Kirkman says it’s in loving to wake up every morning. “I am blessed to be able to do what I love, and have a family I love.”

Smiling, she adds, “Success is finding your joy.”