WMT Walmart Inc

CEO, Bonobos

By Chip Cutter 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 1, 2019).

Soon after becoming chief executive of men's clothing brand Bonobos, Micky Onvural had a revelation.

"This is going to sound fairly ridiculous, but there's no job description when you're CEO," she says. "Where we take this company really is this incredible opportunity for me to define."

Ms. Onvural, who took over the top job from co-founder Andy Dunn in September, says one of her early goals is broadening the brand's base of customers. Bonobos, which was founded in 2007 and acquired by Walmart Inc. for $310 million in 2017, is expanding its line of apparel and targeting, for example, golfers who want better-fitting clothing on and off the course. It's also opening additional "guideshop" locations where customers can try on various fits and sizes and then place an order for delivery.

While Ms. Onvural spent much of her career in marketing, she says retail runs in her family. Her father spent nearly 40 years working as a buyer for a clothing retailer in the U.K., and she continues to turn to him for advice, mostly on personal matters.

Here, four of her most trusted advisers:

Andy Dunn

Senior vice president of digital brands at Walmart; Bonobos co-founder

Ms. Onvural met Mr. Dunn in 2016, when she was discussing joining the company as chief marketing officer. After an initial phone conversation, she met with Mr. Dunn in New York. The conversation veered to family, and Mr. Dunn brought up the death of his grandmother. The two quickly connected. "I realized: Here's a man who knows how to be vulnerable, who can express his emotions, who can communicate," she says.

While she succeeded Mr. Dunn as CEO, he is senior vice president of digital brands for Walmart, overseeing Bonobos. The two talk via FaceTime and text message several times a week. "Many other CEOs don't have the good fortune to have the former CEO still around and actively involved," Ms. Onvural says.

She recently asked, for example, how often Mr. Dunn checked in with his chief financial officer and chief operating officer when he was running Bonobos. His answer: Every morning for about five minutes.

Kristin Meek

CEO and founder of WYLD

When Ms. Onvural needs to have a tough conversation at work, or wants to discuss her performance in a meeting, she'll often turn to Ms. Meek, an executive coach she met last year.

Ms. Onvural describes Ms. Meek as a "classic coach" in her ability to ask a series of perceptive questions to help her work through problems and address issues.

Ms. Meek is also helpful in shifting perspectives, Ms. Onvural says, often by making comparisons to nature. At the beginning or end of a coaching session, Ms. Meek will often pull a card from "The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit" deck, a set of illustrated animal archetypes, and ask how the animal resonates. A recently pulled swan card reminded Ms. Onvural she needs time alone to recharge.

The exercise is meant to be whimsical, and others at Bonobos also use it. "It's fun, it's silly," Ms. Meek says, "but it definitely has become a ritual that this team, specifically, has come to love."

Jerome Griffith

Lands' End CEO

At a retail conference earlier this year, Ms. Onvural and Mr. Griffith sat together on a panel called "Making the Leap to Leadership: How to Transition From Running a Team to Running an Organization." The two traded contact information and soon set up a call to talk more.

The two leaders' companies are in the same general business, but operate differently. Mr. Griffith wanted to hear about the organizational structure of Bonobos and why the company had created a chief experience officer role, a position focused on customers. Ms. Onvural had questions for the Lands' End executive about the benefits of keeping some fulfillment operations in-house.

"I came off the phone with him the other day and I said to my [executive assistant]: 'Gosh, who'd have thought that I would connect in this way with this guy?" Ms. Onvural says, adding she appreciates his decades of apparel and retail experience. "We signed off the other day, and I was like, 'I'll see you when you're next in New York and I'll have my list of 10 questions for you.' "

Heather Fernandez

CEO and co-founder, Solv Health

Ms. Onvural began working with Ms. Fernandez in 2013 at the real-estate portal Trulia, later acquired by Zillow, befriending her in the process. She says Ms. Fernandez, an early Trulia employee, was an "amazing advocate," supporting her growth.

Ms. Fernandez went on to co-found Solv Health, a mobile app connecting consumers with same-day health care, but they share much in common. Both women are raising three children while simultaneously running a company. Ms. Onvural says she asks Ms. Fernandez: "How do you do this?"

The two frequently swap texts, and Ms. Fernandez says the beauty of their relationship is that they can talk openly and candidly about challenges with "no fluff."

Ms. Onvural says Ms. Fernandez is generous with business and personal advice, including on how to focus on what matters. She advised Ms. Onvural as she transitioned roles to write down what kind of CEO she wanted to become. This led Ms. Onvural to draft a pledge about how she planned to lead the company. One of her promises: to keep building authentic relationships.

Write to Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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