Swapping Lab Coats for Lip Gloss feat. Ashley Henry ’22

From an early age, Ashley Henry was interested in beauty. Despite getting her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and working for the CDC in epidemiology, her childhood dreams never faded.

After her stint in public health, Ashley went on to work as a hairstylist before getting her MBA and fully committing to beauty and luxury goods. 

Ashley is now the global product development manager at Fresh (an LVMH brand) in New York City. She accomplished her goal post-graduation from Rice in 2022, becoming one of the first alums to enter the luxury goods space.

Ashley joins host Maya Pomroy ’22 to share her journey from a science-focused career path to the beauty industry. She talks about pursuing an MBA to pivot careers, encourages others to pursue unconventional paths with their MBAs, and imparts an important lesson: closed mouths don’t get fed.

Episode Guide: 

00:41 Ashley's Unique Background and Pivot Story

01:55 Family Background and Early Interest in Beauty and Fashion

04:40 The Journey to Medical School and a Shift in Direction

06:27 Career Options with a Chemistry Major and a Passion for Beauty

07:49 A Career in Public Health: From CDC to Quarantine Officer

12:31 The Pivot to Beauty Industry: A Journey of Entrepreneurship

14:49 The Decision to Pursue an MBA at Rice Business

18:04 Reflecting on the Impact of Rice Business School

18:31 Finding Her Role in the Beauty Industry

19:57 The Journey to LVMH and Fresh Beauty

27:16 The Power of Storytelling and Networking

31:49 Future Aspirations and Advice for Aspiring Professionals

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

The power of storytelling in business school and beyond

27:27: The number one thing that business school taught me was the power and importance of telling your story in a way that resonates with people. Pay attention in Janet's classes, pay attention in comms, pay attention and leverage those things, and think about your story. Think about the transferable skills. Think about how you can connect the dots in a way that resonates with your audience. So, I went into those interviews with these beauty brands knowing how I was able to transition from pre-med, chemistry, public health, hair care entrepreneur into where I was going, and I was able to draw that through line for them and paint that picture for them. So the power of storytelling and your pitch is a story, right? It's a short story, but it's a story. And when you're in an interview, it's a story. It's your opportunity to tell about yourself and your journey and to connect with the person across from you. This was an important skill that I learned in business school that I still leverage every single day.

20:52: Business school is a time for you to explore and figure out what you want to do, especially if you want to transition and if you're a career switcher.

Closed mouth don’t get fed

29:52: You have to ask for what you want in this life. No one's going to know what you want if you don't speak up for yourself, and you're going to suffer if you just swallow all of those things and take what you're given in life.The clarity is the work that you have to do within yourself to understand, “What exactly do I want?”

How Rice helped Ashley in embracing authentic networking

04:19:  Business school gave me the opportunity to get my reps in on talking to people. Because I used to think networking was such a superficial, artificial thing. I'm like, "Oh, you're only talking to someone because you want something from them." But in business school, you have to break out of that quickly. And you had to be able to see someone, go, talk to them, and tell your story in a way that would grab their attention and be able to add value to them.

Show Links: 

Transcript

Guest Profile:

Ashley Henry | LinkedIn LVMHFreshRice Business - Meet Ashley Henry, MBA '22