Pippa Hallas – Driving Change while Maintaining Heritage
Pippa Hallas joined the family business, headed up by her father John, as part of the marketing department in 2005. A few years later, the opportunity came to step into the CEO role and Pippa grabbed it. She was just 33 and the global financial crisis had just hit.
One of the first decisions she made as CEO was to appoint 16-year old global sailor Jessica Watson as brand ambassador. It was a bold, polarising decision but one that Pippa felt was needed to bring a new and modern relevance to the Ella Bache brand. The move paid off and it was one of a series of brave decisions that has seen Ella Bache maintain market share in an increasingly competitive market and an increasingly fickle consumer.
Today Pippa reports to a male board and despite Ella Bache catering to an almost exclusively female target market, she is often the lone female voice at the table. She’s balancing her uniquely female insight with emotional intelligence and vulnerability, while maintaining the confidence and tenacity to make tough decisions that aren’t always popular.
Grab a copy of Pippa’s book Bold Moves here.
