Main RMI Number
408-554-4960
SCU - St. Joseph's Hall
Room # 108
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Retail Management Institute Newsletter -Summer '02
Advisory Board Profile: Bobbi Silten "Leading and Believing"
By Janet Ishikawa '03
Bobbi Silten is President
US Dockers and Slates
LEVI STRAUSS & COMPANY
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College is a precarious time for students. We wonder what will come of our education and if we will eventually be successful at reaching our goals. Ultimately we want to be happy with who we are and what we do with our lives. Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute advisory board member Bobbi Silten can empathize with the apprehension that we experience. As a successful business person, she exemplifies the fact that with intelligence, determination, and passion, you can make a rewarding career out of what you enjoy and believe in.
Silten was born and raised in Sacramento. She attended Sacramento State before transferring to the University of California at Berkeley. Silten was interested in learning about herself and the world and it translated into a self-designed social science major that included the disciplines of social psychology, communications, sociology, and women's studies. In her senior thesis, Silten honed in on her interest in promoting the cause of women when she examined the mass media's influence on the onset of anorexia nervosa.
After graduation, Silten decided to pursue marketing and in the process she has fervently committed herself to the goal of changing the way America advertises to women.
The journey that took Silten from college to her position as the President of the Dockers® Brand, U.S. at Levi Strauss & Co. was not a case of instant success. In her first eight months out of school, Silten worked as an administrative assistant at an ad agency. While some of her friends were enjoying big salaries right out of college, she did not lose sight of her dreams and held firm to the belief that she had much more to offer.
In the next 11 years, Silten gained valuable marketing experience and insights into consumers at Foote, Cone, & Belding in San Francisco. She began in media planning. She then worked as a client account manager for Clorox and over the years worked her way up the ranks to the position of account executive counseling clients such as the Yellow Pages, Nintendo, Clorox's Armor All, and the Levi's® brand. Ms. Silten was influential in launching highly acclaimed Levi's® Jeans for Women TV campaigns. The unconventional and refreshing "Women in Motion" campaign that featured Matisse-inspired images of women rather than the ever-present super-model. It was with the Levi's® account that she first was introduced to the company and in a coincidental turn of events, took the place of the Levi's® client who went on maternity leave. Silten fit in so well, that she was asked to take the position permanently and through the years she has been involved in many leadership roles in the company. She has held various positions, such as the, Marketing Director of Women's Dockers®, Merchandise Manager for Women's Dockers®, Manager of Slates®, and is now in her current role as President of Dockers® and Slates®, which she has held for two years.
In her role at Levi Strauss & Co., Ms. Silten manages all aspects of the U.S. business for Dockers® from strategic planning, to product design, to consumer and retail marketing. She manages a $100 million operating budget and is accountable for the profitability of these two brands, whose combined annual revenues exceed $1 billion.
1In addition to her business contributions, Ms. Silten is a donor to the Women's Funding Network. She is also a volunteer mentor with Menttium, a professional women's mentoring program. In addition, she sits on the board of the Red Tab Foundation, which provides aid to LS&CO. employees during times of financial crises.
From all indications, LS& CO.and Silten are a perfect fit. When asked what she finds the most unique about her company she quickly and confidently explains the three attributes that makes LS&CO. stand apart: their iconic and historic reputation, her great co-workers, and the fact that LS&CO. is a company with values. She noted, "It makes you feel good to work for a company that values courage, originality, empathy and integrity." Moreover, what keeps Silten motivated and excited about her career is the fast pace of retail. She enjoys the gratification of regularly seeing her ideas come to life, and loves being able to use her creativity to solve problems and implement strategies. In the forever-changing business, Silten has realized what it takes to be successful in retail, "You have to have passion and be driven. It is important to constantly have your antenna up to predict and understand what people want."
Silten personifies a balance of talent, determination, and passion. While she admits that the first five years out of school were not the easiest, she knows that the education and challenges that she encountered in those early years makes her more appreciative and grateful for the accomplishments she has achieved. In closing, Silten offers this wise piece of expert advice which will hopefully alleviate students' career anxieties, "Know what you want to get out of life's experiences and believe in the goal." |
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