Suzanne on Leadership & Supporting Women
Below is an excerpt from one of Suzanne speeches that captures her origin story—her values, her passion, and her commitment to equality…
Only after I gave up fighting for a place at the table, did I realize I could set my own.
I’ve always been drawn to fighting the good fight. I grew up in Chicago in the 60s, and was part of the growing movements for racial and gender equality. But it wasn’t until I hit the road –dropping out of college to travel to Nepal, India, Australia and many other countries – that I realized how much women of all cultures struggle for an equal place in society.
When I returned home, I was a full-fledged feminist, and I had established my first fashion company with a wonderful woman entrepreneur I met in India. I loved running that company, but it was my first, and it failed. I knew I wanted to stay in the fashion industry. So I went to work for other companies. I started as a showroom girl, madeoffee, typed invoices, handled credit and collections, and supervised sales and merchandising.
When I returned home, I was a full-fledged feminist, and I had established my first fashion company with a wonderful woman entrepreneur I met in India. I loved running that company, but it was my first, and it failed. I knew I wanted to stay in the fashion industry. So I went to work for other companies. I started as a showroom girl, madeoffee, typed invoices, handled credit and collections, and supervised sales and merchandising.
The only thing I didn’t do was advance to senior leadership positions.
Women in business, and women in general, have to fight stereotypical assumptions about what they can or cannot achieve. We are often not given the encouragement, nor the benefit of the doubt that men receive, especially when it comes to leading a company.
So I became an entrepreneur again and started another business that evolved into a multi-line national sales company .
That’s how I met my husband Michael Cohen. He walked into my showroom and into my life. Together, we created and built Michael Stars. He was the head of the company until he passed away in 2015. I took over as president but not without having to overcome skeptics who said I didn’t have the “experience” to lead.
I dug in and did what I knew had to be done: tear down the walls that had risen between company departments, and encourage people to work together to help us grow and evolve as a brand. Today, I have a great, collaborative team who share a common purpose, vision, and mission of using our platform to advocate for gender and racial equality.
Through the growth of Michael Stars, I’ve been able to significantly expand my activism and philanthropy, both personally and with the work of the company foundation we established. The foundation supports grassroots organizations, especially those led by women of color, who are building local, national, and global platforms to advocate change in the constructs of power to achieve gender equality.