If you compete with other women you will be bitter, but if you compete with yourself, you will become better
If you compete with other women you will be bitter, but if you compete with yourself, you will become better
Interview with Onanong Pratakphiriya
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director, L’Oreal Thailand
If you compete with other women you will be bitter, but if you compete with yourself, you will become better
Interview with Onanong Pratakphiriya
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director, L’Oreal Thailand
Could you please briefly introduce yourself and share with us your working experiences before and until you got a career at L’Oreal, one of the biggest beauty companies in the world?
Hello, DBWT community. My name is Onanong Pratakphiriya or you can call me Ying. I’m Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director of L’Oreal Thailand.
I’ve always been in the communications field. I spent the first half of my career in agencies serving clients in many industries. I handled a lot of B2B and pharmaceutical clients. Then I moved to the corporate world starting with the tobacco industry where I expanded my horizon in public affairs and stakeholders coalition as well as strengthened my skills on communication issues. Then I moved to the automotive industry where I did both product and corporate communications and organized media test drive events.
My past experiences were far from the beauty industry, and it was not the industry that I planned my career move. So, I was reluctant to join L’Oreal in the first place as I was not much into beauty at the time.
Now I’ve been with L’Oreal Thailand for four years and I really enjoy my time here. I grew my passion for beauty in no time. I love the culture where people are passionate, ambitious, and fun. The transformation to digitalization on digital and sustainability that the company has been driving really amazes me. I’m very glad that I joined this company.
What is “Beauty for a Better Life” and what were the initial purposes of this program?
Beauty for a Better Life is a free and high-quality training for becoming professional hairdressers, for people who find themselves in difficulty. This is an international program under the L’Oreal Foundation. In Thailand, we have trained over 120 people in Bangkok and Chiang Mai for the past 2 years. We give training opportunities to disadvantaged people because we want to help them have a proper carrier to make a living so that they can have a better life.
Could you explain us what is “Beauty-Tech”?
Beauty Tech is beauty augmented by technology. It is a technology and digital tool that helps enhance consumer’s experience in all categories of beauty products on multiple channels. Technology has the power to create personalized experience and answers consumer needs: “What is the right color for me? What is the right skincare routine for me?”
Beauty Tech also makes us connect with our consumers better.
One example of a Beauty Tech tool is our ModiFace technology. It is powered by Artificial Intelligence which provides the most realistic virtual try-on in our industry. You can try as many lipstick shades as you like at home or at the counter.
Are women in your organization feeling challenged to make themselves look good all the time according to model standards, or what are the most important criteria to successfully represent a beauty company?
Not at all. Everyone in the company can be themselves and look good in their own ways. We have the “Beauty for All” mission, which means we have to meet the needs of every form of beauty. Therefore, our teams must be diverse and inclusive as well.
One of the criteria to work for L’OREAL is to have passion for beauty. Our team wants to satisfy all beauty needs and desires in consumers’ infinite diversity. Beauty is actually more than just looking good. Beauty gives us confidence in who we are, in who we want to be, and in our relationships with others.
In your view, do you think women with beautiful appearance tend to be more successful in getting a job opportunity? Is there anything we can do to counteract these biases?
I don’t believe so. I’ve never met a single manager who hires a person because that person looks more beautiful. It’s more about the experience and performance. However, I think being professionally presentable can help give a certain positive impression especially when you are a leader.
What would you suggest to the women who are not confident in their appearance, and afraid of being judged by other people? What influence is coming from Social Media?
Self-worth is a key. You have to value and accept yourself despite your flaws, weaknesses, and limitations. If you have a favorable opinion or estimate of yourself and regard yourself in spite of what others may say or do, you will have confidence in yourself and in your ability to follow through and achieve what you want.
Have you ever faced any challenging situation when you needed to compete with other women? What is your suggestion for other businesswomen to handle competitive situations, and overcome any stressful feelings?
When I have to compete with others, I honestly never look at the gender of who I compete with. I personally don’t think women have to compete with each other. If you compete with other women you will be bitter, but if you compete with yourself, you will become better.
Women should support and empower each other. We all are under the struggles and challenges.
What would be your advice for the younger generation who would like to work in the beauty industry? Is there any specific skill set for working in this area? How important is ‘being digital’?
Whether you are young or old to at work in the beauty industry, you should have a passion for beauty. If you have a passion for the things you do, you will enjoy it.
Being digital is of course very important. Everyone now lives in digital, and digital evolves very fast. As a digital first company, everyone at L’Oreal has to digitalize the way they work even in a corporate communications function like mine.
Another important thing is not to be afraid of change and keep on learning. The world is changing very fast. If you don’t change and you don’t learn, you could become obsolete.
Are there any special programs from L’Oreal that aim to support women’s career and development? Could you give some advice for the younger women who would be interested in joining the programs?
We have the “For Women in Science” program where we support female researchers as they have less representation in the scientific community. We’ve been running the program for 18 years in Thailand.
We do not yet have a specific program to develop young women in general. But many top women executives at our company including myself participate in external programs to empower young women as well as to help our internal team to grow.
What is ‘sustainable beauty’ and why is it important, from L’Oreal’s point of view?
Sustainability is important not just for beauty but for every industry and everyone because the challenges our planet is facing are unprecedented. But as the industry leader, our contribution can be nothing but major. For us, sustainable beauty involves all of our value chains and our ways of working, starting from ingredient sourcing, designing formulations and packaging, production, retail to consumer awareness.
We have a new sustainability program, L’Oreal for the Future, which sets very ambitious goals towards 2030. We hope to be a catalyst of change and inspire others to take actions with us.
What do you do to protect and sustain the environment in your personal life?
I try my best in my personal life to reduce my impact on the environment. I’m not perfect but I always try to improve. What I do mainly is reducing single-use plastic, minimizing food waste, and making more sustainable consumption.
I also join activities on sustainability when I can, and I advocate people around me to make a lifestyle change and take action to help preserve our planet.
What is your mission on the Board of the French-Thai Chamber of Commerce as a counselor?
My mission is to support the Chamber’s team to best serve the members’ needs. As sustainability is a topic that is dear to my heart, I work in the sustainability committee to drive activities among the business community. I’d also like to see more diversity among the board member. When I first was nominated as a board member, there were only two Thai females on the board. Now we are more gender-balanced. 🙂
Do you have any role models for your professional and in your personal life, and why?
My role model in my professional life is a former boss of mine when I worked for a tobacco company. He showed me how a good manager should be. I learned so much from him on strategic thinking and people management under his mentorship. I can say that he played an important role in the success of my career progression. I’m always grateful for that.
What is your favourite L’Oreal product you can’t live without?
I have so many favorite products! Since I’ve joined L’Oreal, my beauty routine has become more advanced. I enjoy skincare products as they help on the areas I concern, and I feel pampered at the same time.
For makeup products, they make my day more fun. I put on different lipstick and eyeshadow colors depending on my mood and what I wear. If I have to list out a couple of favorite products, I will put Lancome Advanced Genifique, and YSL Tatouage Couture Lipstick.
