How Did I Get Here?

Sharon Price John

Chief executive officer, Build-A-Bear Workshop
from
  • Education
  • Lincoln County High School, Fayetteville, Tenn., class of 1982
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville, class of 1986
  • Columbia Business School, class of 1994
  • Work Experience
  • 1987–88
    Account executive, Bagwell Communications
  • 1989–91
    Senior account executive, DDB Needham
  • 1991–93
    Account supervisor, Backer Spielvogel Bates
  • 1994–99
    Vice president for international marketing, Disney business unit, Mattel
  • 1999–2000
    VP for U.S. toy marketing and product development, VTech
  • 2002–09
    Senior VP, GM, Global Preschool, Hasbro
  • 2010–13
    President, Stride Rite Children’s Group
  • 2013–Present
    CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop
  • Life Lessons
  • “Don’t compartmentalize work and life. Do what you love.”
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  • “A positive attitude, perseverance, and passion can get you far.”
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  • “Believe in yourself, but recognize you cannot do it alone.”
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  • As a high school cheerleader, 1982
    “I was a cheerleader, gymnast, and dancer, and I was voted friendliest and class favorite.”
  • “I worked on Hershey—the Whatchamacallit bar and the launch of a chocolate-bar-flavored pudding that didn’t work out.”
  • “The toy industry is like advertising. It’s fast-paced, and you have to make gut-based calls. I had six titles in five years.”
  • “We purchased the rights to one of my favorite toys from childhood, a fashion doll named Dawn. Our container was on the way from the factory to our first national retailer when Sept. 11 happened. Our orders were canceled.”
    John was founder and CEO of Checkerboard Toys from 2000 to 2002
  • “We lost $49 million in 2012. In 2014 we were at $16 million income, and now our goal is sustained, profitable growth—2017 is our 20th anniversary. Kids who played with our products now have kids.”
  • “I was one of 11 in the international business exchange program. I was in Leuven, Belgium. It was a crash course in the different facets people bring to business.”
  • “I moved from all of these little accounts to being the supervisor on what was, and I believe still is, the largest candy bar in the world: Snickers.”
  • Ringing the bell at the NYSE, 2015
  • “The game changer for my career was the relaunch of Nerf.”
  • “They really wanted someone who understood the intersection of kids, moms, and branding, and that’s what I do.”