Teri Cashel, group president at Steve Madden, has been lucky to work alongside strong women throughout her lengthy career in the garment center and footwear industry.
Cashel can specifically point to two women who have played influential roles in her career.
One is Corinne Moroney, who shaped her path early on. “When I was working as a sales rep, she was a buyer,” she told FN. “She saw potential in me. And when she moved on to another position, she actually reached out and hired me to come work for her for another company. And through that opportunity, Corinne and I have stayed very close through all of my career. She’s the person who led me to Steve Madden.”
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The other mentor is Steve Madden president Amelia Newton Varela, with whom Cashel has worked for 25 years. “She’s given me so many opportunities and has believed in me in such a large way,” Cashel said. “I came in as a key account executive, and under her mentoring, I have been able to go from a key account executive to a vice president of sales to a group president within this organization.”
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Speaking on empowering women in the footwear industry, Cashel shared, “Mentoring is a big part of it. And I think that you need to set goals for your team. But not only set those goals, really work alongside them to help achieve those goals.”
When it comes to rising to the challenges the industry is facing in this age of extreme disruption, Cashel believes flexibility is key.
“It’s all about fluid thinking,” she said. “What really needs to happen is, when a new situation comes up, focus on that new situation while also relying on prior knowledge to help guide through that — and also just having an open mind to all ideas and strategies from your team. It’s not same old, same old.”
A version of this article appeared in the June 1 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On June 3, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation will honor these women at the annual live event in New York City.