Cristina Bravo Sjödin
"If you can connect people, you can create the future"
Scott Heiferman
WHAT I DO
I connect high potential, talented individuals, from my professional and personally crafted network, with the most exciting projects for the worlds leading retail & luxury brands.
I strive towards making the right match between people and company culture, to build long term relations with my clients: highly talented retail managers and employers of choice in the retail & luxury industry.
My more than 23 years of experience in retail & luxury, of which the last 15 as HRD for Louis Vuitton’s Mediterranean region, has allowed me to meet, develop and follow the careers of a large number of outstanding retail professionals, in-house and in other brands.
I’m passionate about meeting with people and spotting potential in early career professionals as well as in senior managers eager to build their journey in this fascinating, high demanding industry.
As a senior executive HR professional who have worked and managed teams in international, multi country environments,
I provide tailored HR consulting services on a project basis for companies undergoing organizational changes or aiming to develop their corporate culture to adapt to the markets evolving demands.
I have in my past experience successfully managed the creation of a multi country regional organization, with a unique headquarter, integrating single countries with existing teams and corporate functions under a new, regional management.
One of my areas of expertise is to accompany companies operating in international environments with training on unconscious bias to leaders and management who strives to have larger diversity and stronger inclusivity in their organizations.
I have a solid experience to work creating awareness and providing the tools needed to increase the sense of belonging of their teams, from the moment of recruitment and throughout the employee journey.
Based between Madrid, Istanbul & Stockholm, I operate at EMEA level with a particular know how and established network in the retail luxury markets of Spain, Portugal, Türkiye, Greece, the Nordics (Scandinavia) and Israel.
Specialized in the retail luxury sector
OUR SERVICES
HR Consultancy
Tailored guidance and consulting on a broad aspect of HR topics, in accordance with clients needs.
Interim HRD services on a project basis for companies undergoing organizational changes.
Executive search
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Assistant /Deputy Manager
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Team/Sales Manager/Leader
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Store Manager & Director
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Retail Manager/Director
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Corporate management roles
Career orientation & re-profiling
Personalized guidance to reshape your professional image. Providing insight on strength's and capitalizing on your experience for a stronger self projection.
CV review & interview preparation.
Learning & Development
Based on your organizations needs and reality, I deliver and animate following programs:
Identifying Unconscious Bias:
Creating awareness on how it conditions more diverse and inclusive workplace's;
Creating a culture of belonging:
Developing engagement towards the organization embodying & recognizing the richness that diversity brings (ideally as a follow up to Unconscious Bias or together)
Recruiting for diversity:
Target population HR team & hiring managers
The above programs can be adapted to your teams or organizations needs.
MOTIVATION
When you find the right person and place him/her in the right place, magic happens!
Having operated in multi country complex international, fast paced environments, building high performing, diverse and inclusive teams, I learnt that the challenge to find talented retailers and leaders is a reality for any luxury brand.
I have in my past experience performed endless searches in direct and/or with the support of numerous head hunters or search firms, and realized that there are very few professionals dedicated to such with a real life experience from the industry.
My experience of developing talents from junior roles into senior executive retail leaders in numerous countries, has allowed me to quickly target the level of potential and assess if the personality and the skills of the person I have in front of me has what is needed to be successful.
I have also experienced that very talented individuals with exceptional track record, will not be successful in an organization if the mindset and company culture are not aligned with their values.
A new generation of talents are demanding different things from their employers, that are not always tangible, but essential to attract and retain them over time.
To assess not only the potential and skills, but also to manage the expectations of a candidate and make the right match is essential to have a successful commitment long term.
So is to create a company culture where you foster actions that contributes to develop a pride in belonging from each individual, with independence of where in the organization they are.
"We need to remember across generations, that there is as much to learn as there is to teach"
Gloria Steinem
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
While my early professional experience was crafted in the fast fashion industry in Stockholm with Inditex, exceptional retail school, my journey within luxury was initiated in Spain, with LVMH.
At first in retail and after in merchandising, until I discovered that my passion was people and the HR field, where I took my Master Degree.
My past 15 years of experience from the luxury retail industry as a senior executive HR Director for Louis Vuitton has allowed me to develop a 360’ know how and understanding of each and every area in this field.
As part of the executive committee for the retail and corporate business of more than six countries and 900 people, with a direct team of 9 people, I have solid experience in people management, talent acquisition & development strategy for a diversity of markets.
I have also a solid knowledge on the employee relations, C&B practices and legal particularities of the countries that I oversaw, which is crucial in my new project.
I’m qualified as Predictive Index (PI) Analyst since 2012 and have undertaken training on Unconscious Bias by LVMH in 2021, becoming a facilitator to train Managers cross Maison’s and countries.
MY APPROACH
To understand the expectations of my client’s and their business needs is of utmost importance to build a relation of trust and mutual success.
The possibility to perform my work and deliver my services from different locations is not only an opportunity but essential to connect with & develop relations to the locals.
Only when you get to know the country or city where your client’s operate, will you be able to sense the particularities that shapes the needs of each market.
I frequently perform visits to the markets and stores of main luxury brands to get a solid understanding of the environment and profile of their client’s, as well as an overview of the team.
The challenges that a same brand faces in two different markets are not necessary the same.
The maturity of each market differs and so does the perception of the brand for client’s or it’s attractiveness as employer for candidates.
I have an existing portfolio of retail talents that I have met throughout my years in this business, and a extensive network of locally based connections that are my base for assignments.
I aim to become a trusted partner who can contribute to support your specific needs in a given moment of a business that is fast changing, in one of the most exciting and demanding industries, retail and luxury.
ABOUT
I was born and raised in Stockholm, in a family with a Swedish mother and Spanish father.
I grew up speaking Swedish and Spanish in a home where I was fortune to experience the richness of two very different cultures from an early age, in a country that fosters critical thought and encourages diversity and equality at an early stage of your education.
I have been living in Madrid since 2001, frequently travelling and spending long periods in Istanbul and Tel Aviv for business and personal reasons over the past eight years.
Living and working in different countries and cultures is what I value the most. It has shaped my understanding of the importance and richness in recognizing cultural differences and being sensible to them, without compromising business strategy or company standards.
I’m able to work fluently in Spanish, English, French and Swedish, and I have a reasonable understanding of Hebrew, which I continue to learn in parallel to Turkish
