I've been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember. It started with selling lilacs from the neighbours' trees and shovelling snow on cold Winnipeg mornings. Then it was wooden toys on consignment in a local gift shop, while I worked at Eaton's from the age of sixteen until I moved to Montreal to study economics at McGill.
After McGill I moved to Paris, where I learned as much about design at ESMOD as I did about life, luxury retail and how much the experience matters in the customer journey. Then it was back to Canada and a bit of everything, from taking phone orders at Pizza Pizza in Toronto to selling men's suits at Hanford Drewitt in Winnipeg, before heading back to Montreal.
For eleven years I worked in wholesale, doing everything from selling Avirex leather jackets across Canada to developing and merchandising knitwear collections with our designer, including trips to Hong Kong and China, and selling them across North America. That led to VP Operations at Kasper Canada: a lot of power suits, the relaunch of Anne Klein at Holt Renfrew and The Bay, and a real education in everything from import and production to sales and distribution.
From there I was part of the leadership team that launched Michael Kors in Canada. I was there from the beginning, helped open its first three stores in Montreal and Toronto, and oversaw the opening of the Montreal warehouse and the Toronto showroom. I learned from the best in every part of fashion, retail and wholesale, and it brought me back to my first love: retail.
While running an aesthetic medical clinic, I saw an opportunity in beauty and opened Etiket in 2011, with the online store following in 2012. Over fourteen years it grew into a recognized destination for skincare, niche fragrance and luxury beauty, with stores in Montreal and Toronto and a national e-commerce business. I held the full P&L, worked with global luxury brands, and took the business through growth, disruption and restructuring. It taught me what no corporate role does: what it's like when every decision lands on your desk. It also confirmed how much the customer journey matters, from the moment someone discovers you to how they leave your store or website, and what they think of you afterwards.
INDEX is the work I do now: helping founders and growing businesses with strategy, positioning, store launches, e-commerce and the operations that hold it all together.
I've sat on the founder's side of the table, from creating and launching a business to growing it, in stores and online. I know how much of yourself goes into building something. What I love most is helping people build what they've imagined, whether it's a first store, a new division or the next chapter of something that already works.
I also write The Edit, short pieces on growing a business without losing what made it work.
And I keep The Carnet, a few places, stores, restaurants, brands and books I return to.