Forty Over 40

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 8Qs for Sally Bergesen, CEO of Oiselle

sallybergesenWelcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Sally Bergesen, CEO and Founder of Oiselle, a designer and manufacturer of women’s running clothes that fit, flatter and perform.

1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?
When I picked up running, I put down a lot of unhealthy behavior. And while it didn’t immediately lead me to my calling — becoming a designer and CEO of an apparel business — it put me on the path. In many ways running IS a pivotal moment of reinvention. It’s a pure act of physical and emotional effort that has the power to permeate all of life.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?
That would have to be my first design agency boss, Ted Leonhardt. Long ago, I was hired to be his assistant. But fortunately for me, he didn’t want a traditional assistant – and I didn’t want to be one! I was ambitious, and wanted to do big things in brand strategy and design, but I also had zero experience. I will always be grateful for the fact that he said yes and didn’t box me in.

3. What is one thing that most matters to you professionally?
Design excellence, industry innovation, community building. Okay that’s three! Obsessive product quality will always be Oiselle’s top goal. But pushing for positive change for pro women athletes in an industry that is at times exploitative is also right up there. And continuing to connect with, and be inspired by, our friends, family, and customers always fuels what we do.

4. How did you get your first and second jobs?
First big job: after realizing I would suffer “death by a thousand paper cuts” if I became a lawyer, I flailed around – and just happened to find my dream job and industry in design. I now think flailing is the prelude to discovery. My second job was quitting the first – and going out on my own. It was 2001, and immediately after leaving my secure job, we also bought a house and then 9/11 happened. Making my first business successful during terrible economic conditions forced me to become resilient and scrappy – and actually set me up to handle the 2008 decline.

5. How do you unplug?
The plugs are gone. It’s very difficult. I am the first to admit I have a smartphone addiction. But more and more I try to be thoughtful about context…it’s fine to work the phone when you’re in line at the post office, but out to dinner with friends? Not so much. Running is the best solution of all. I’m a purist in that I prefer to run without a phone, music, and many times. even a watch. Just run and move and be completely free. That sentiment is actually the meaning behind Oiselle…French for bird, it’s about that precious time of freedom, the feeling of flight.

6. What was the last business book you read?
I read David & Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I bought it because we were dueling with a large competitor in our industry, and I really relished the message. One of the points that stuck with me is that a common characteristics of innovators (i.e., Davids that unseat Goliaths) is that they’re not overly concerned with being agreeable. In other words, “let’s just make nice” and be a pleaser is fine in some instances, but if there are things you really want to change, you have to be willing to provoke — even if it’s just provoking people to take a closer look at the issues.

7. What cause do you most want to advance?
We have a partnership with Every Mother Counts, founded by Christy Turlington Burns. It’s a maternal health advocacy group that works to improve pregnancy and childbirth for all women. Improving the health of women, plain and simple, improves the health of the world. Women equals families equals future generations. It’s been an honor to join with them — and spread the message through running, which is a very apt metaphor for what stands between women and good healthcare. In many parts of the world, women have to walk up to 3 miles to get the medical support they need to stay alive themselves, and deliver healthy babies.

8. Who do I want to meet from the list? Alissa Johnson of the White House – just to talk to someone in such a unique world; and Katie Orenstein of the Op Ed Project…hello? When I was reading the list, I spotted her…we went to high school together! Let’s hear it for Berkeley High, Class of ’86.

You can follow Sally on Twitter at @oiselle_sally or on Tumblr at @sallybergesen.

Whitney Johnson

Whitney Johnson

Whitney is the author of the acclaimed Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream. She has been named on numerous Smart Thinkers and People to Follow lists by major media such as Inc. Magazine, Business Insider and Huffington Post and is quoted in Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes and more.
Whitney Johnson