$4.95

8 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010

ON THE COVER

By David Althouse

All in a k

ACover Photo Russell James

Sharen Jester Turney

FOR SHAREN TURNEY,

ARDMORE NATIVE

AND UNIVERSITY OF

OKLAHOMA GRADUATE,

WORKING TO MAINTAIN

VICTORIA’S SECRET’S

DOMINANT STATUS IN

THE $10 BILLION LINGERIE

BUSINESS IS ALL IN A

DAY’S WORK. PEEK IN ON

A TYPICAL WORKDAY OF

THE VICTORIA’S SECRET

CEO AS SHE MANAGES

THE COMPANY MYSTIQUE

AND ADMINISTERS THE

SAY-SO ON SEXY.

Glitzy, Glamorou

A work ethic born of an Oklahoma ranch upbringing comes

in handy for Sharen Turney these days. The Ardmore native

oversees company brand growth, new company innovations and

approximately 36,000 associates worldwide as CEO for Victoria’s

Secret, leading retailer of women’s lingerie and beauty products.

While Victoria’s Secret is synonymous with glamour, high

fashion and supermodels, the people behind the scenes at this

great American business success story work diligently to keep the

brand relevant and forever young in the hearts and minds of its

customers worldwide.

Turney, master manager of the Victoria’s Secret mystique,

challenges the market with innovative new designs and

positions the company to quickly meet the needs of its

customers each season.

Achieving these overall goals entails a rigorous workday for the

OU graduate. Going into each day physically fi t and mentally

focused is the fi rst step to success in such a challenging role.

Knowing this, Turney begins most days with a workout.

Before beginning her drive to the offi ce, she kisses her 16-year-

old son as he heads to school. En route to the offi ce, she calls her

executive assistant to confi rm her schedule for the day.

A successful career in the fashion industry has taught Turney

the value of people, which explains why Turney often meets with

her brand, executive, online and international teams even before

she makes it to her own offi ce.

“You must lead from your values and believe in the people you

work with,” Turney said. “Believe in doing the right thing, have

passion for what you do and listen to learn, because people have

good ideas. Collaboration is key.”

OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA 9OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTL

s and Gorgeous

From there, she might enter into a

creative session, discussing the choice

of Victoria’s Secret supermodels

and the image layouts used in the

catalogue, online and in stores.

“Victoria’s Secret has launched the

careers of some of the most beautiful

and most recognized women in the

world,” Turney said. “The Victoria’s

Secret Angels embody the essence

of who we are – sexy, sophisticated

and forever young. The Angels are an

important representation of our core

equities.”

Angels enjoy a highly coveted

status in the world of supermodels,

acting as the focal point in Victoria’s

Secret fashion shows and advertising

campaigns, showcasing the

company’s high-profi le lines and

collections, and serving as its

general spokespersons.

Victoria’s Secret has launched

the careers of some of the most

beautiful and most recognized

women in the world, including:

Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum,

Adriana Lima, Tyra Banks,

Stephanie Seymour, Karolina

Kurkova, Alessandra Ambrosio

and Selita Ebanks, to name a

few.

Next on Turney’s daily agenda

might be a planning session for

the following spring.

“We have to discuss what that

year looks like,” Turney said.

“We have to discuss business

10 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBE 10

ON THE COVER

OBER 2010

planning and the investment of capital.

We review short-term and long-term

strategic plans, and that’s ongoing

because we have to know where we are

and where we are headed.”

Under Turney, Victoria’s

Secret enjoys a reputation

for maintaining agility in

an ever-changing market.

Maintaining that agility is a

high-stakes game where the

viability of the company is on

the line.

“One thing that can be the

downfall of anyone in the

direct or retail business is not

understanding that inventory

is sometimes your biggest

investment,” Turney said.

“You have to make sure you

balance the optimism with

the conservatism. One way to

do that is to go into a season

conservative from an inventory

perspective, but with your

business set to react to your

customers with speed.”

For Turney, rarely a day

passes without planning for

new business. For Victoria’s Secret,

this means growing the already robust

direct business, creating new stores, as

well as extending into new categories.

“We are continually looking for new

business opportunities,” Turney said.

“We have started a sports line because

we believe women want to get and stay

in shape. There is a big opportunity in

that category. Of course, we continue

to see additional opportunities in the

beauty business.”

While the company enjoys a global

reach of 160 countries in their direct

channel, 2010 will see the opening of

the fi rst two Victoria’s Secret stores

outside the United States – in Canada;

and recently announced that it will

open a 16,500-selling-square-foot

Victoria’s Secret fl agship store in

London’s premier retail destination

for luxury and fashion brands on

Above: Sharen’s University of Oklahoma portrait

Left: At age 5 on the Oklahoma ranch

Below: Turney with Heidi Klum and Seal

12 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010

ON THE COVER

the prestigious corner of New Bond Street and Brook

Street in 2012. The brand also reaches billions of people

around the globe through its annual televised Victoria’s

Secret fashion show.

“There are also opportunities to create even bigger

communities through social media,” Turney said. “We

connect with millions of people through our social media – a

leading multimedia community in our ever expanding and

far-reaching world of technology, and we believe Victoria’s

Secret has a bright future.”

Charged with championing one of the most recognized

brands of intimate apparel and beauty products on the planet,

Turney’s workdays are bits of achievement in themselves.

In order to master the regime, Turney’s travel schedule and

calendar are reviewed daily.

“I travel a great deal to stay connected with our designers,

vendor partners and the world of fashion at large,” Turney

said. “I can start my day in Europe and end in New York. My

schedule is planned 12 months out, and every three months

I’m updating it. Experiencing how people live, work and play

all over the world is inspiring.”Sharen and Miranda Kerr at the HUG Awards

OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA 13

The former Oklahoma ranch girl has done far more than

just rope the demanding regime; she has scorched her own

brand on the Victoria’s Secret mystique.

Under Turney’s leadership, Victoria’s Secret became one of

the world’s largest direct marketers of women’s apparel and

lingerie, reaching nearly $1.4 billion in sales in 2009.

To boot, Turney has helped Victoria’s Secret earn a

reputation for creative innovation, focusing on color,

fashion and newness.

On top of that, Turney believes in staying in touch with

customers and in maintaining an insatiable desire to fulfi ll

their needs.

“We want to keep our brand relevant by continually

captivating our customers,” Turney said. “We respect the

emotional connection we have with our customers, which is

built upon our core equities about being sexy, sophisticated

and forever young.”

While Turney receives universal acclaim for growing the

$5 billion business that is Victoria’s Secret, the dynamic

CEO uses more than just a dollars-and-cents standard to

measure her own success.

“In a leadership position, watching your talent grow and

be successful is a measure of your own success,” Turney

said. “All of us remember our start in this business, and I

was fortunate to have great mentors at the time to teach

me. I think it is important to teach and to cast a great

leadership shadow.”

Turney learned the importance of mentors while growing

up in Oklahoma, and counts as her early infl uences such

people as her grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters and

people in her community.

“I visit Oklahoma often and wholeheartedly root for

the Sooners!” Turney said (after all, she was on the fi rst

pompon squad that garnered much attention to OU’s

basketball team). “I am very proud of the ground I grew

up on. My father would tell me that no matter where we

are – be it a small town or a big city – each of us has much

to offer based on where we are from and our family values.

That gave me great perspective. It gave me great confi dence.

And it keeps me curious.”

Turney says the work and interactions of Victoria’s Secret

and its parent company, Limited Brands, are guided by four

core principles:

The customer rules. Everything must begin and end with

an insatiable drive to anticipate and fulfi ll the customers’

desires.

Passion leads to success. The people of Victoria’s

Secret pursue excellence because they are emotionally,

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14 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010

who has thrown her own personal loop on the world of glitz,

glamour and high fashion.

Victoria’s Secret is a great American business success story

that owes its success to a high-caliber cadre of business-savvy

women working hard and doing the right thing. Leading that

group is a woman whose every workday speaks to the power

of inspirational leadership traits acquired years ago by a

young girl on an Oklahoma ranch – traits such as a can-do

attitude, stick-to-itiveness, hard work, smarts and staying

curious.

That woman is Sharen Jester Turney from Ardmore.

ON THE COVER

intellectually and spiritually engaged in their work, making

their talents formidable and their results extraordinary.

Inclusion makes us stronger. Victoria’s Secret cherishes

diversity because embracing others’ thoughts, experiences,

hopes and dreams makes their own more complete and

connects them to their customers.

It matters how we play the game. Winning means nothing

unless how they get there is fair, collaborative, rooted in

our values and contributes to the greater good.

In 2009, Victoria’s Secret and Limited Brands contributed

more than $15 million and volunteered more than 13,000

hours to help organizations empower women, educate

youth and inspire the arts. It also assisted more than

19,000 women and touched the lives of more than 30,000

families through its Giving Tree programs during Mother’s

Day and other holidays.

To Turney, that is a huge part of what makes Victoria’s

Secret the world-renowned leader in lingerie and beauty

products.

Ensuring the current as well as future growth of Victoria’s

Secret is all in a day’s work for the dynamic Oklahoman

Watch the

Victoria’s Secret

Fashion Show at 9 p.m. on

Tuesday, Nov. 30 on CBS.

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