18th Annual Retail & Luxury Goods Conference

heritage reimagined: careers panelist

 

Ashley Smalls

Early Talent Career Lead at Ralph Lauren

Ashley has been the Director, Early Career Talent Lead at Ralph Lauren for over 2 years. Her work is focused on creating access and opportunity for high potential talent at the beginning of their careers. She has worked for Ralph Lauren for almost ten years, holding past roles in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Learning & Development, Talent Development and Talent Acquisition. In 2020, she represented Ralph Lauren as a fellow in the CEO Action for Racial Equity fellowship, a fellowship that brings together top talent and resources to advance public policies and corporate engagement strategies that will address systemic racism and social injustice while improving societal well-being. Ashley is originally from Wilmington, Delaware and resides in New York City. She attended Parsons the New School of Design and graduated from the University of Delaware. As a certified yoga teacher, she believes strongly in wellness, fitness and meditation.

 

Hayward Williams

SVP, Global HR and HR Operations at Tapestry

Hayward Williams joined Tapestry in January 2019 and is the SVP, Global HR and HR Operations where he leads HR for all Tapestry Corporate Functional Groups, HR Operational Excellence, Employee Relations and matrix responsibility for HR Technology & Solutions. Hayward previously held roles with Tapestry as VP, HR Business Partner for Global Operations where he led HR for Global Supply Chain, Information Technology, Data Science & Analytics and Enterprise Transformation and for two years served as the Head of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for Tapestry. Prior to joining Tapestry, Hayward worked for The Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) as Executive Director, Global HR Business Partner for Prestige and Artisanal Fragrances and Mergers & Acquisitions/Integration.  Hayward has a Master of Science in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Arts/Communications from Clark Atlanta University. Hayward is originally from St. Augustine, FL and now resides in Brooklyn, NY.  

 

Kristy Hurt

Founder, Co-Lab and Kristy Hurt Consulting

Kristy Hurt is an independent Executive Recruiter & Human Resources Consultant with 20 years experience in the fashion, beauty, retail and consumer luxury business, working with a broad range of clients such as Aesop, Goop, Jason Wu, Prada, The Row, and Tom Ford, among others. Before launching Kristy Hurt Consulting in 2009, Kristy spent more than 5 years managing human resources activities for luxury group leader LVMH Group, which includes iconic brands such as Celine, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Marc Jacobs. Kristy graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and earned an MBA in Organizational Development from the City University of New York’s Baruch College in New York City.

 
 
 

Carlos Barraza (Moderator)

HR Business Partner at LVMH

Carlos is an experienced HR business partner across the fashion and tech industries with a proven track record in new talent strategy and employee engagement. Carlos joined LVMH in 2021 following his time at Rag and Bone.