Mwende Kiambo

Background

About Mwende Kiambo

Companies that are creating a differentiated customer experience are winning in today’s omnichannel environment. The shaping of that competitive advantage begins long before the product reaches the market. It begins with an effective product strategy. This is where I excel…in aligning that strategy across functions to ensure a customer focus across the value chain.Throughout my multinational career, I have been consistently selected to lead cross-cultural and cross-functional teams in driving product innovation and market entry. I have lived and worked in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In each market, I have blended my multidimensional expertise, decisive leadership, business acumen, and strategic vision with a research and innovation, regulatory, and product development background to move organizations forward in commercialization.Among my strengths as a global leader is my ability to turn complex problems into opportunities for a differentiated brand aesthetic and growth. Serving in multiple leadership positions for Crabtree & Evelyn—most recently as the Director of Operations, I am a member of a team that is driving the senior leadership vision to position this legacy bricks-and-mortar retail business as a digital, relevant millennial lifestyle brand with worldwide appeal.Joining Crabtree & Evelyn as the Head of Global Regulatory, I soon took on additional accountability. After joining a startup-like culture, I scaled my multinational team and put a new product development framework in place while also developing go-to-market strategies (e.g, commercialization, regulatory). Previously, as L’Oréal’s Director of Claims Innovation in Shanghai, China, I was recognized as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, colleagues, regulatory authorities, and other stakeholders in evaluating innovation and knowing whether the best interests of the company were served by continuing, course-correcting, or disengaging in various product development initiatives.