MEET THE TEAM: COLIN PHIPSON, CHIEF OPERATING AND FINANCIAL OFFICER

Colin Phipson is not your average numbers guy. When becoming qualified as a chartered accountant in an audit firm, he was reprimanded for being partial to a paisley-tie-and-bright-jacket combo for work. Apparently, people don’t trust you with their money when you “look creative”. How wrong could they be… Colin went on to work at Chevron Texaco (one of the world’s largest energy companies) before working in retail for Signet (the world’s largest specialty jeweller), moving to fashion retail for Marcs, David Lawrence and Jigsaw, before joining CAMILLA five years ago. As the company’s Chief Operating and Financial Officer, he’s supported the business’s exponential growth… and can now happily wear bright patterns with pride. Here he shares some working wisdom and life advice.

FOLLOW YOUR PATH: “From a really young age, I always found it easy to see patterns in numbers, so a career in finance and operations was probably always going to be a path that I pursued. Finance and analysis are actually something I really enjoy. Not necessarily the ‘boring’ backwards looking parts but connecting the dots and seeing the interconnectivity and strategic opportunities. I enjoy looking at numbers and how they can tell a story; how they can sometimes jump off the page and show you that there’s a problem, allowing you to work creatively and collaboratively through the challenge.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FIT: “I started my career in an audit firm – the very opposite of the CAMILLA environment. I used to wear lovely paisley ties and really bright jackets and I got called into the office and was told off because that wasn’t the right image for auditors and accountants. Apparently, sobriety and boring was the perfect mix to get people to trust you when looking after their money and finances. I knew then that auditing wasn’t the place for me.”

MIND THE GAP: “CAMILLA has gone through a significant transformation in the last five years as we rapidly grew from a small to a large business. We needed our process and systems to evolve with this growth, but still wanted that small business flexibility. My role is to future-proof CAMILLA for scale, while embracing the power of its entrepreneurship and creativity. The business has changed significantly since then – we’ve grown internationally and in Australia – and the core of the business has needed to keep pace. Our systems’ infrastructure has been probably the biggest change we’ve made, followed closely by changes in team capability. We have replaced or enhanced every single system over that period to support our global expansion – an amazing transformation to have been part of.”

?THE ART OF NEGOTIATION: “It’s relatively easy to negotiate with someone when you’ve got all the power, but the art of negotiation, particularly in a growing business, is being able to negotiate a good outcome when you don't have the upper hand. This needs a completely different approach, but with the right strategy and a focus on building trusted relationships you can still achieve great outcomes.”

MANAGE YOUR MONEY: “There’s a lovely saying: ‘sales are vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king’. Just like you need blood to live, a business needs cash to run. If you have cash in your bank account, even if you’re operating at a loss, you still have control of the direction you travel. In uncertain and difficult times, it’s the number one thing for a finance team. Having said that, you can’t focus on cash to the detriment of everything else – there is always a balance. Are you giving the business what it needs to grow, but holding back enough contingency to deal with a bump in the road or a great new opportunity? You want to give everyone the flexibility and the ability to work within the boundaries of the resources you have, but within the parameters you’ve set. It can be an art to ensure you have enough money for when you need it, particularly during a pandemic when you have big growth ambitions.”

TURNING NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES: “There are people who have been influential in my life, and one is a gentleman by the name of Michael Ford who gave me some sound advice. He said, ‘Don’t feel disheartened when you’re going through a really difficult time and you might feel like you want to give up – what you are going through is making you stronger and better.’ He used the analogy of going for a job interview when you’re up against another candidate. Who will your future employer want to hire: the person who’s always had it easy or the one who’s been through difficult times and come out the other side? It’s about looking at difficult times and seeing the opportunities to learn.”

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS: “When it comes to my leadership style, I’d say I’m approachable. I immerse my team in our strategy and goals, giving people the opportunity to put their own stamp on things. And although I hold people accountable, I’m always willing to let them make mistakes; sometimes that is the best way to learn. In terms of my peers –?the executive team and the board – I think it’s very much about being informative, collaborative, and bringing diversity to the thinking. I’m also transparent, using data and insights to inform my approach, which is good for our business. CAMILLA is full of creativity and emotive responses, and I bring balance by helping people consider the risks but also unlocking the financial, operational and system resources to power our growth.”

HAPPINESS = SUCCESS: “Most people try to measure success in either achievements or wealth. Although money can make your life easier, it doesn’t equal happiness and it can bring its own problems. Achievements come and go. For me, success is being happy, and happiness comes from contentment. Be comfortable with yourself and surround yourself with people who love you and help to bring out the best in you.”

THE CAMILLA JOURNEY: “It is an honour to be a current custodian of such an amazing brand and to be on the journey to ‘colour the world’. Not only is it exciting to work for a business that has so much untapped potential, but also for a business that cares about more than just profit. From making people feel amazing when they wear our clothes, to helping women and girls through our philanthropic initiatives, CAMILLA is a business that is truly changing lives.”?

TAKE FIVE:

What’s the trait you admire most in others?

Determination – sticking with it even when it is super hard.

Business people you admire:

Visionaries like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. They see things in a completely different way that allows them to see the opportunities that no one else can and turn impossible to possible. That’s not something you can learn, that’s pure instinct.

?What’s the best decision you've ever made?

Asking my lovely wife to marry me.

?Your greatest strength?

Commitment. If I really want to achieve something, I'll persevere no matter how long it takes, or how difficult it is to get there.

?Favourite CAMILLA piece?

Blinged-up bomber jacket.

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