Leaders of Change: Cheryl Ryan

CHERYL RYAN is currently Director of eCommerce at Nature’s Variety. Born and raised a Midwest girl, starting out in South Dakota and now in St. Louis – she began her career with a brief stint in hockey, then spent time on the brick & mortar retail side with Target, and eventually made her way into Marketing with Nature’s Variety – a mid-sized pet food brand focused changing the lives of pets through raw nutrition.

She's spent most of here 5.5 years there working within Brand Development, specifically on new product innovation. This type of work has always been led by the consumer and so a shift into eCommerce two years ago was a natural fit. 

Why did you choose to pursue eCommerce in your career? Like many others, eCommerce chose me more than I consciously chose it. I was happily working within Brand Development on our Marketing team when an eCommerce opportunity arose in my company. It was one I knew I couldn’t pass up. It’s an unexpected path driven by a love for the consumer, a background in brick & mortar retail, marketing, product development and a constant curiosity to learn what’s new. The endless challenges to learn, innovate and act quickly keeps me inspired and energized every day.

What is your biggest strength, and how have you used it for your success in eCommerce? I think being resilient and adaptable has been most beneficial, especially in eCommerce – where it seems the only guarantee is change. Whether it’s been taking on new challenges, overcoming bumps on the road, or hair-on-fire emergencies, being resilient and navigating through each obstacle from a logical point of view and adapting our way of working proves to be incredibly important on a daily basis.

What is the weirdest skill or talent to come in handy in your eCommerce experience? My endless sense of curiosity and ability to be resourceful has helped me learn so much. I certainly don’t have all the answers (and even if I did, in eComm, they would all change by tomorrow), but I’ll ask “why” and “how” until I feel I’ve sufficiently figured something out. 

How have you most successfully influenced change within your organization (or with your clients)? As with many eCommerce teams, there is often a lack of organizational understanding of “why” something needs to be done, especially when it’s different than how we are used to operating. By making sure everyone is aware of the “why” and business impact, it has created much better internal understanding and support. This can often times mean bringing something back to eComm 101, and leveraging data – both internal, and whatever we can find from external reports, webinars, etc. – to inform the key stakeholders.

What was your most “valuable” career failure, and why? Along my path over time, any time I made the decision to pursue something because it was what I thought I should be doing vs. what I was actually passionate about, I realized quickly that somehow those choices never led to much satisfaction or motivation.

All were great opportunities to learn more about myself and where my true interests lie, though!

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior or habit has most improved your life? For me, over the last few years I’ve found it’s so important to “shut off” at some point each day and let my mind clear. This generally involves leaving my phone in another room and some high-quality reality TV, but always leads to a fresher mind. 

What are you learning right now? Too many things to list! I learn something new daily. But something I’ve been focusing on this year is being more present. I’m a serial multitasker, and so I need to remind myself that I don’t always need to do 5 things at once.

On a personal side, I’m learning how to not kill all of the plants we’ve planted in our landscaping. After living in our house for 5 years and replacing nearly all of the plants at least twice in that time – this is the year I remember to water and fertilize!

What are the 1-3 songs that would make up your career soundtrack today?

• Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac
• Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
• Who Run the World (Girls) by Beyoncé 

What are the 1-3 books you’ve gifted the most or that have greatly influenced your life, and why?

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson: A great reminder (in life & work) to spend your energy on things that matter.
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek: Such a great framework when thinking firstly about Why we do things, vs. What we do, as well as how that leads to inspiration both on our team, but also for our consumer.

I will fully admit, however, that I’m more of a podcast person – current favorites being Guy Raz’s How I Built This, Armchair Expert, and Freakonomics Radio.

If you could have a gigantic billboard for the world to see with anything on it, what would it say, and why?  “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be who you always were.”

I’ve always loved this quote because it reflects the mentality that if you want to progress – whether in business or personally – you can’t rely on the way you’ve always worked. You need to evolve. And while this can usually mean going outside of your comfort zone, it’s so important if you want to move forward.

What are the worst recommendations or advice you have heard related to eCommerce? There are many, but the absolute best summary is Chris Perry’s recent post, CPG Execs Say the Darndest Things About eCommerce.

What advice would you give to a future leader of change about to enter business, or specifically the eCommerce field? Stay curious, and stay connected! This business is constantly changing, you can only really keep up with the help of those around you – whether it’s conferences, LinkedIn connections, peers, webinars, etc. – build a great network of people who are operating in this world who identify with what you’re going through.

What specific, industry-related change do you believe will happen that few others seem to see? I certainly don’t think I’ve got a special crystal ball here, but I am very interested to see how the landscape continues to evolve to continue to remove friction from the consumer's buying experience. 

What is the last thing you bought online, and why? In preparation for a lake vacation – a wide variety of floaties, sunscreen, and beverage-insulating devices.

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Leaders of Change is a weekly interview series featuring select industry pioneers who are driving the evolution of commerce, the consumer and everything in between. If you would like to recommend a Leader of Change for consideration, please reach out to me on LinkedIn.