Women Of The C-Suite: Layne Dempsey of Chervò On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive C-Suite
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Always be ready to be creative and think on your feet. This year I’m honored to be able to share the story of 40 yrs. of Italian style in sport combined with Italian heritage, considering I also just turned 40, this an true honor.
As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite” , we had the pleasure of interviewing Layne Dempsey.
Layne is a Managing Partner at Chervo, USA Inc, a subsidiary of Chervò S.p.A. Layne is a driven visionary with an entrepreneurial spirit and disciplined approach.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Well, I’m a small-town girl from Western Nebraska with big dreams. I grew up in a town with 400 people, 21 kids in my graduating high school class. I was lucky enough for it to be where one of the world’s most famous golf courses was built Sand Hills. That course and the people I worked for at the club changed my entire life. As a young girl, I was able to meet some of the most influential and famous people, who all came there to escape the world and play links golf. As a young caddie I would get to spend 4+ hours with them, learning more about their lives and them about mine. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the first Evan’s Scholars from Sand Hills, which is a life-changing opportunity. The Evan’s Scholarship is a full tuition and housing college scholarship for caddies nation-wide. This amazing honor let me to New York after college and ultimately all the way into my full career in the golf/sports industry.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Honestly there is a new story every day. Because it was so recent, I will never forget the day in March 2020, when I received a call from my business partners in Italy, just at the beginning of COVID. There were so many unknowns, especially with all that was transpiring early in Italy. It was what was said to me that I will never forget. “Layne, we don’t know what is going to happen, but all we can say to you is that you are going to have to figure out how to make the business float through all this. We can’t and won’t be able to help you, we’ve never been through this before either and there are a lot of unknowns in all our markets, so good luck, figure out how to float.” I hung up the phone and my stubborn only-child mentality came over me and I felt a sense of strength that I can’t describe. I’ve never been a quitter and it was almost like they threw down the towel and challenged me to something unknown. Quit, are you crazy, I rallied my small team, we rolled up our sleeves and we grew our direct to consumer business to new levels that year. Float… hardly, we swam like Michael Phelps.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Thinking that I shouldn’t be in the role or wasn’t capable of being in it. That’s funny now, but at the time I had this delusion that my previous bosses and others leading brands had all the answers. The funny thing now, is I know they don’t… nobody does and when you think you do, someone else will have a better one.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Honestly, there are so many people that have shaped me into who I am today, but I wouldn’t be where I am without my Mother. She raised me as a single Mom and she taught me everything about being a good person, having high self-worth, being self-sufficient, trusting people but never being self-reliant on anyone. She took me to so many cities and gave me so much as a young woman, all while driving 70 miles one way to work and working from Midnight to 9AM. So much of what she taught me wasn’t by what she said to me, but by what she did and had to do for me, in order to give me the opportunities I have today.
In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?
Manifestation and positive self-talk. I’m working hard on trying to make sure the things I’m saying to myself in my head are as kind as the things I would say to others. I often hear myself saying things to myself that I know I would NEVER say to one of my friends or colleagues. I think that’s one of the biggest things we don’t realize we are doing to ourselves and that’s telling ourselves stories that aren’t true. I’m working on making sure the stories in my head that I tell myself have purpose, passion, confidence, and courage.
As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?
More now than ever, we are a global community. Things happen quickly and information is instantaneous. It’s key for the leadership of an organization to be able to react to this by working together with colleagues from different backgrounds. We all bring something unique to the table and this diversity is what propels organizations forward. A good leader understands that they don’t know everything about everything, but that they know a little bit about it all, which is why we surround ourselves with experts and work tirelessly to motivate them to achieve the best results for the company.
As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.
Goes back to a fundamental childhood lesson, “treat others as you would like to be treated” It’s basic human decency and respect, a manner that’s gotten lost or diluted by situations that do not apply. One person should not deserve a role or job or placement above another because of the color of their skin or their religion. People are people, show what you are made of and may the best candidate win.
If every human took that fundamental lesson, we were all taught in elementary school, lived by it and demonstrated basic respect for others by simple gestures each day imagine how different our world would be.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
Pivot, adapt and pivot again. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves as a society and leaders over the last couple of years and the saying was always there, but it’s never rang truer. Change is inevitable. I’ve always been prepared and ready for change, now I am more than ever… every day.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?
That the path to the position was probably one with very few twists and turns. This was not and is not true in my case. There are daily twists and turns, lots of hours of hard work, determination, discipline, and believing in yourself when not everyone else is.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
None that can’t be overcome. It all comes down to believing in what you do and who you are. That self-worth can and will change everything. It’s 2022, I feel extremely lucky to be a woman in these times. I’m forever grateful for everything that that our country has done in the past to get women to where we are today. There’s always room for improvement, but not just for women, for all of us as humans. We have a responsibility to leave this world and society a better place than when we entered it and we have a lot of work to do.
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
When I started this journey, I don’t believe I really knew what my actual job would be. What I can say is that my work is not a job, it is my passion. It’s what I think about all day long and usually almost all night long. I don’t do what I do because it’s my job, I do it because I love it. I love the people I do it with, the family I’ve created in the brand, and the memories we make along the way. I’m very lucky, I’ve never “worked” a day for this brand.
Is everyone cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
I’m not qualified to answer this question, nor would I ever project my opinions to get in the way of some one’s dreams. I believe so much of what we can do is all about who we surround ourselves with and what we say to ourselves in our minds. Nobody will ever believe in you, if you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re doing. So, the best advice I can give someone is know what it is that you want to do, run after it, chase that passion with all that you have and be kind to yourself along the way.
What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?
Someone once said to me, two ears one mouth. So, I’d say, listen. You chose to surround yourself with these individuals, take risks on them, because they are on you.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Someone’s world yes, everyone’s…… well, not yet.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Prepare for a global pandemic, period the end.
2. Channel your inner “Emily in Paris” as this will be your new role working with a 40 yr. old Italian Company and its Founders.
3. Always be ready to be creative and think on your feet. This year I’m honored to be able to share the story of 40 yrs. of Italian style in sport combined with Italian heritage, considering I also just turned 40, this an true honor.
4. There is no formula to luxury retail and if you think you have one, you are already antiquated and don’t even know it
5. Learn to pivot and then learn to pivot again from the initial pivot. Have you seen that Friend’s episode? Never had it been more relevant that it was in 2020/2021…and well 2022.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Am I? I’m just a person like everyone else, with dreams, desires and luckily a platform to tell my story to.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
This is not a life quote I applied in my past, but it is relevant now and our mantra…GSD, “Get Shi* Done” it is applicable in EVERY realm of life and in every situation. I’m a doer, always have been and always will be.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
Beth Dutton. Do you think she reads this?
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Women Of The C-Suite: Layne Dempsey of Chervò On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.