Colleen Rooney, vice president of Global Communications, joined QVC in August 2015. She is responsible for advancing internal communications, external communications, financial communications, community affairs and corporate events production across all of QVC's global markets. Colleen has more than 20 years of experience, including influential communication positions with highly respected global companies such as DuPont, GE, Hyatt, Comcast and NBCUniversal. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA and her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
People are a true inspiration to me, starting with my family and in particular my grandparents. They arrived in America without much more than courage and trust; courage in themselves and trust in the extended family and friends that welcomed them. My mom raised us with similar values and a mindset to find our purpose in life. No matter where we are in our lives, no matter what obstacles we face, there are always people ready and willing to help. So for me, it’s all about working on a team that is more family-like, in that we instill courage and trust to bring out the very best in each other.
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at QVC?
I’ve had the opportunity to work for some amazing companies throughout my career, and I know each position I’ve held has challenged me and taught me something different. I also had the opportunity to work with great leaders. Ellen Kullman, Retired Chair & CEO of DuPont, was an incredibly powerful and fearless leader. She was firmly grounded in her values and passionate about the transformation of the iconic company. Through Ellen’s powerful influence, I learned to not only harness my own creativity and power but to empower others to do so too. Learning from her gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of female leadership and drive. That’s been so important to me here at QVC, where we recognize the incredible power women have in our economy – both as consumers and as successful entrepreneurs.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at QVC?
QVC is an incredible place to work – there’s an energy you feel as soon as you walk into any of our locations around the world. We’re unique in that we’re a retail + media + social experience and business model – so there’s a lot to be excited about from exclusive products we’ve discovered to new digital platforms. If you think about it, QVC was a social shopping community before the advent of the Internet. While I appreciate how humble we are as a company, my team and I are always looking for new ways to share the QVC story. The challenge is simply helping people who don’t know us, to get to know us a little bit better – we are not the same QVC as we were thirty years ago, in fact today we’re the third largest mobile retailer in the U.S. (Source: 2017 Internet Retailer Mobile 500).
What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Harness the power of storytelling and keep your writing skills sharp. Find your own unique voice and bring creative ideas to the table. Also, network and really get to know the people you are working with – relationships really are everything.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
While I’ve had the opportunity to work for many great organizations, I’ve learned each have their own unique culture and set of values. For me, I found my home at QVC because culturally we encourage diversity of thought and individual expression. We believe that building real relationships is the key to our success with all of our audiences, both internal and external. So, I have learned that for me, values and culture are really important to my success and happiness.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I’m a firm believer in finding a career you truly love. As the saying goes, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. I also think it’s important to find that time and space away from the workplace to really reflect. You need to give yourself the right “mind space” to breathe and be open to new ideas. Great thinkers and artists such as Einstein and Dali found that their best ideas and solutions came to them in the early stages of sleep – when the creative juices really start to flow.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Authenticity is everything. We all have something that makes us special and unique – embrace it!
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
Mentorship is one of the most important ingredients to success, professionally and personally. Not only have I been able to learn from and emulate amazing people—both men and women—throughout my life, but since I’ve joined QVC I’ve seen how mentorship can transform other people’s careers as well. Mentoring others can be just as powerful a tool for your own development and for the greater good.
QVC’s charitable mission is to support the success and wellness of women through the power of relationships. In October, we hosted a product search with our sister company zulily at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women where more than 30 entrepreneurs had the chance to pitch their products directly to a panel of experts from QVC and zulily. Not only did these participants get instant feedback from the panel, but they also had the opportunity to get their product noticed by both retailers. And by the way – they were all great! At the 2015 Pennsylvania Conference for Women, we also had dozens of women pitch their product and three of these entrepreneurs went on to ultimately sell their product on QVC.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
I admire my mom, a leader in her profession and role model to me and my three sisters. She raised us as a single-mom and found her purpose as a lawyer in the pursuit of justice. She really taught us the importance of finding our own purpose, being resilient and having a good sense of humor!
What do you want QVC to accomplish in the next year?
We are very excited about the recent launch of Beauty iQ, a first-of-its-kind multiplatform beauty entertainment experience for beauty lovers, experts, influencers and brands. With Beauty iQ, QVC is innovating during this rapidly evolving and competitive retail landscape. We’re investing in the power of live programming, while amplifying our sharable content on digital and mobile to reach a diverse audience. The new beauty destination positions QVC as an innovative global, retail leader across digital and emerging platforms at a dynamic time in the industry.