On The Move: Career Mobility and Me with Peggy Siew

How My Sephora Journey Began

My journey into the world of beauty all started with marketing roles with i nuovi cosmetics (a homegrown label) and then L’Oréal Singapore. I then joined P&G Prestige as Marketing Manager, and took on commercial and general management roles in both local market and regional capacities thereafter. 

It was in 2011 that I joined MAKE UP FOR EVER (MUFE) with a mission to change the Southeast Asia region’s go-to-market structure from distributorships to direct subsidiaries in key markets. I’m glad to say I did this successfully for 8 markets (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia), while maintaining distributorships in India and Vietnam!

After 5 very rewarding years in the role, I took on a new challenge as Marketing Director for the brand in the newly-established APAC office. Since then, APAC has become the largest region in the world for MUFE.

New Opportunities in Career Mobility

The Marketing Director role was based in Hong Kong then, but due to family reasons, I did not relocate there. Instead, I did a weekly commute to and from Hong Kong. As much as I loved the role, that took a toll on my health after 2.5 years, leading me to look for alternatives within the Group.

This brought me to Sephora, and I’m glad I made the move! It truly has allowed me to grow personally and career-wise. Aside from being able to focus more on health & family, it’s also my first time working on the side of a retailer. 

As Brand Director for our love brand, Sephora Collection, I work closely with the Regional and Country teams across Southeast Asia to drive sales, market share and profitability objectives for the brand. It has truly been an enriching experience since Sephora Collection is a multi-axis brand covering makeup, skincare, accessories, bath and hair, with expansion into other categories in the pipeline. I’ve really found it very interesting being able explore the beauty industry from the fresh, new perspective of the retailer

Thinking of Making the Move? Here are Some Tips

Career mobility can be daunting, given that it comes with lots of new changes, challenges, and learning curves. But it can help improve your career and work-life balance for the better. If you’re thinking of making the move, my advice would be to do your best to deliver beyond KPIs in your current role. 

It also helps if you have a clear vision of your next role (e.g. geographical location, division/Maison, etc.). So do reach out for friendly chats with your contacts in the Group to learn & understand more about their Maisons. Some good advice from a mentor — have in mind what are the 3 non-negotiables for your next role, and keep an open mind for everything else!