As chief marketing and social impact officer at Kenneth Cole Productions, Samantha Cohen is happy that her passion for advocacy is so deeply interwoven with her career.
“Social impact is ingrained in all that we do all day, every day,” the executive said of Kenneth Cole, where she’s been for 24 years. “It’s at the heart of the business. It is what I would say has kept me here for all these years. It’s a joy that I get to do it.”
The brand currently has a strong focus on advocating for mental health, a cause that was spotlighted through a recent collaboration with Larroudé — this team-up included a shoe collection and an event.
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“It was the first time Marina [Larroudé] had been open and honest about her mental health struggles,” Cohen said of the event in New York City. “I think that’s been the most rewarding part of a lot of these collaborations that we’ve been doing.”
Another recent collaborator of Kenneth Cole’s was Lingua Franca, the sustainability-focused luxury brand led by founder and creative director Rachelle Hruska MacPherson. This collaboration championed another pressing issue, freedom of speech.
Cohen told FN, “Looking at Larroudé or Lingua Franca, they’re both these organizations with a strong woman at the helm. … They’re smaller organizations compared to the company that Kenneth has built, but they all have the same heart.”
Working alongside other women, and mentoring them, has played a significant role in Cohen’s career.
She shared, “Most of the teams that I’ve led through all the years in my career have been predominantly women teams, just ironically and luckily, which has been a great thing. And it’s something I’m really proud of. I love mentoring. It’s not just a program to me. It’s part of how I try to lead every day. I definitely have worked hard to earn my seat at the table, and I’m very honest and transparent about that with my team members and my future women leaders. I encourage them to approach their careers the same way I have, to be proactive, to speak up, to ask questions — and don’t always wait to be invited into the conversation.”
A version of this article appeared in the June 1 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On June 3, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation will honor these women at the annual live event in New York City.