Damn Good Brands

June Lee Risser is Vice President and General Manager for the U.S. Galderma Consumer Care business.  A strategic business leader with a passion for building great brands, June is responsible for leading the U.S. commercial organization for the Galderma portfolio of consumer-available brands, including Cetaphil® Gentle Skin Care products, celebrating 70 years of healthy skin in 2017 and Differin® Gel,  first FDA-approved, prescription-strength retinoid acne treatment available over the counter since 2017. 

June joined Galderma in April 2016 as Vice President of Marketing for the Consumer business.  In that role, she redefined the strategy and streamlined the structure of the marketing team to drive stronger growth on the priority brands of Cetaphil and Differin. 

Prior to joining Galderma, June spent 12 years with Reckitt Benckiser in roles of increasing responsibility.  During her tenure there, she led key consumer brands such as Lysol and Clearasil to new heights.  As Global Innovation Director for the Personal Care Category based in the U.K., she led strategic planning and innovation for Clearasil. Before that, June was a Managing Director in a brand strategy consulting firm in NYC, Vivaldi Partners, advising clients on marketing and growth strategies. 

June holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with June:

Boots on the ground = real commitment. Camp Wonder is the annual event for children suffering from skin disorders that Cetaphil sponsors and is particularly proud of. Instead of just dropshipping products, June and her team attend the event on a regular basis. By being there, their commitment is illustrated, and furthermore, the experience invigorates her and her team because they get to experience the good that the brand does first hand, which is an incredible boost to morale and, therefore, performance. Having a mission is critical for a brand, but make sure your teammates can witness the mission in action up close and personal.

Maintain relevance by returning to your brand's core purpose. In this day and age, there are endless amounts of upstarts that are disrupting many businesses, CPG & beauty in particular. To safeguard against this disruption, June recommends staying entirely in touch with what your brand's purpose was on day one instead of constantly reevaluating who you are, thereby confusing consumers. Third-party endorsements can help tremendously, not just doctors but influencer experts as well. Marketing, however, is a constant struggle and requires pivoting and reevaluating your strategies and tactics regularly but make sure you keep your core principles top of mind throughout the journey.

Look for courage and integrity in new hires. When asked what she looks for when hiring new candidates, June, without question, stated courage and integrity. She went on to say that sales and marketing skills can be taught, but what cannot be taught are these two qualities that can tremendously enable an employee to have a consistently positive impact on the company's culture and bottom line, particularly during tough times like COVID-19. Find a way to seek these qualities out in your prospective employees in the interview process. This could be through stories of triumph over adversity or stories of courage. Integrity and courage can trump skills and experience in the long term.