84: Mita Mallick: Thriving at J&J, Pfizer, Unilever and Beyond

Send us Fan MailMy guest today is LinkedIn Top Voice Mita Mallick. Mita has headed consumer brands at places like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Unilever. The following excerpt from her linkedin bio brings us to what Mita is doing today:“As a kid, I loved watching commercials instead of actual tv shows (still do!) and going to the store with my mom, studying all the new packaging and products on shelf, testing and trying new things. But as a kid, I didn’t see many stories being told that included people who looked like me. I was the funny looking dark skinned girl, with a long funny looking braid, whose parents spoke funny English. Until it wasn't funny anymore. I was bullied by my peers for years. And I just desperately wanted to fit in. I wanted to belong.   I have spent over 15 years as a storyteller. Leading iconic brands like AVEENO, AVON Color Cosmetics, Chapstick, Vaseline, Suave and Dove. Throughout my career, I have fought hard to ensure people like me are included. Ensuring Black and Brown people were represented in campaigns. Ensuring products we created were for all skin tones. Ensuring we were not reinforcing stereotypes.  I believe diversity of thought doesn’t happen without diversity of representation. When you have all those points of views, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds coming together around a table. Colliding, clashing, and collaborating- that’s when magic happens. That’s when we come up with that one break through innovative idea, campaign, innovation- to authentically and purposefully serve customers and communities.”In this conversation, Mita and I chat about how she got hired at her dream companies Johnson & Johnson and Unilever and how she transitioned to the DEIB space. We also talk about what it means on a day to day basis work in this space, and how we can all become allies. If you enjoy honesty and clarity on a difficult subject, you will LOVE this conversation!Follow Mita on LinkedIn here.Listen to her podcast Brown Table Talk with Dee Cee Marshall here.------------------------------------------------------------Liked this episode? A few things:1. Share the podcast with three of your closest friends! And please leave a great review on Apple Podcasts here or Spotify here (tap on the three-dot menu under the cover art of the podcast) , as it would mean a lot to me and hopefully help others discover it. 2. You will love my emails called Charge-Up! I send them once every few weeks.. they're no fluff no spam, where I share my favourite career insights from movies, TV shows, news and my own personal experiences, that I don't share anywhere else. Make sure you sign up here!  3. Come hang out with me LIVE on LinkedIn and Youtube every Friday at 2 pm CET where I answer your questions and often bring in fab guests:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonalbahl/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/SuperChargeYourself4. Share your favourite takeaways and tag me on your Instagram and LinkedIn.******