Jessica Witenberg

Jessica Witenberg is the EMEA Managing Director + President of Global Beauty of twelveNYC, a women-owned product development agency that creates expertly designed and thoughtfully curated merchandise stories and experiences.

Why is CEW membership important to you?

As a women-owned company with a 94% female make up, it was a natural decision to join CEW. It really is the perfect fit -- we work with an abundance of beauty brands and we want to continue to support and encourage the industry. The membership really represents a cross-section of the entire industry and as well as meeting with other thought partners and counterparts we can use the membership to support smaller and bigger brands. Having the opportunity to learn, help and connect with other women is something I am proud to be a part of.

What is the most exciting aspect of your current role?

Working in such a sustainable, entrepreneurial, women dominated inspiring business that pivots. As well as all the growth opportunities we have with embedding ourselves into the UK market more and growing with organisations like CEW.

What learnings have you taken from the ongoing health crisis?

I’ve learned how important your team’s mental health is, and that our strength truly is in our people -- which is why we have made some organisational changes which put our employees first. The ongoing health crisis has also highlighted our need to be dynamic in this business world and adapt to our client’s evolving needs. We have seen how important the digital landscape is and have been finding new ways to bring stories to life in new mediums.

What are you most excited about for your business in the next twelve months?

It would be coming out of Covid and reimagining what the new world looks like. There really are so many exciting things happening at twelveNYC: we were awarded Bronze status of EcoVadis in 2020 and our goal is to reach silver status by the end of 2021, alongside this we are in the process of obtaining B Corp Status. From focusing on growth potential to supporting our charitable trusts and opening a Paris office…we are just getting started. As consumers are becoming more conscious of their purchases, we’re excited to bring to life products that continue to tell each brands individual story with sustainability in mind. twelveNYC will continue moving towards a holistically sustainable operation and plan to remain focused on transparency and diversity with growth and evolution in mind.

How can we better support women in the workplace?

By remaining flexible, open and meeting people where they are. Being understanding about things like flexibility with childcare is a natural priority at twelve, given we are a women-owned company. Making sure everyone has a growth trajectory and that we take the time to have open discussions about each employee’s unique needs, where they want to be and where they want to go – always helping them grow and support their careers.