Beauty veteran Lisa Green compares walking into JCPenney’s transformed beauty spaces to finding the best-kept secret in the industry.
The vice president of salon and beauty has dabbled in a little bit of everything throughout her career, she said. Her path allowed her to meet a group of women and friends she calls her “girlfriend mafia” — who have supported each other, opened new doors and created new opportunities throughout the years.
With more than 30 years of experience working with many of the top beauty brands (from Unilever to Estée Lauder and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), Green said early advice helped her understand the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. “You know that you have a great mentor when they give you great advice,” said Green. “The sponsorship is superspecial, because these people really advocate for you. They talk about you in a world of opportunities when you’re not even present. Honestly, I got most of my jobs through this network of amazing women who heard about an opportunity and then really spoke my name into existence. For me, it’s just been the ultimate for my career.”
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For the younger generation of women, Green said she would encourage asking for someone to sponsor them “because then they can watch you. They understand the value that you bring to the table. And that is definitely a game changer within your career.”
Similarly from her position now and as a woman of color, Green said she feels mentorship is no longer an opportunity for her, but a responsibility to reach down and specifically pull up other women of color with her.
“In order for positive change to happen,” said Green, “you have to put yourself in a leadership position for your voice to be heard and so that’s really important. It’s something that we really stress to our kids and all of them who stepped up to the table on that, but it’s really important.”
Transitioning from working with brands to JCPenney — that saw former partner Sephora exit a few years ago, and inclusive retailer Thirteen Lune move in — was supported by Green’s friends, she said. And while she counts the move as one of the biggest leaps in her career, it has also led her to discover a company with values that she finds to be quite personal.
“The purpose of the company is to really celebrate and serve America’s diverse working families,” said Green. “You see that in the new community space with the amazing partnership that we have [with brands]. JCPenney allows BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] founders to have space and for me, that really gives me an opportunity to help these minority founders build generational wealth for their own families.”