CLARKS new chief marketing officer travels from Shrewsbury to England weekly
Tara McRae, chief marketing officer for CLARKS, headquartered in Street, England
International travel has been a major aspect of nearly all of Tara McRae's career, from her 10 years at German athletic shoe company Puma to the three years and counting at English shoemaker Clarks. Since she was promoted to chief marketing officer in January, she has made weekly trips from Massachusetts to a small English village.
What is your travel like now?
My entire career – I worked at Bose Corp. prior to Puma – has been a heavy, heavy travel schedule, all over the U.S., Canada and the world. Clarks is unique because for the past four months has just been back and forth to the United Kingdom. I am global chief marketing officer, so I will spend some time over in Asia and other areas of Europe. The intensity of the travel has always been there, but this is basically living in two countries.
Why do you travel so much?
Being in the marketing and digital space calls for it. Whether it be at Puma or Clarks, we have a ton of wholesale partners like Amazon, Macy's and Zappos, so we have a ton of events, which cause me to travel. Over at Clarks for the last couple of years, it has been due to international meetings and retailer travel, but now it is due to the majority of my team being headquartered in the U.K.
When I talk to people who say, 'It is so amazing you get to travel,' I think of the people like me who know the pain of travel: many nights in hotel rooms, terrible airplane food, uncomfortable beds. It is not all it is cracked up to be. Sometimes I will go to a new country, and all I will see is the airport and meeting rooms.
My willingness to travel is an asset to my employers, but someone in my position has to travel. You can't sit in an office and develop the Clarks brand into what it will become. You have to be out in the field to completely understand the world.
Doesn't tech make travel less necessary?
The fact that I am chief marketing officer for a company headquartered in the U.K. and I am allowed to live in the U.S. the majority of the time speaks to how technology enables us to work. We do videoconference, but you can't discount actually being there personally and interacting with people.
Do you maintain two homes?
Since I started my new role, I'm doing a lot of different hotel options. Since it is a small English village, there is an inn right across the street from my office. They've got to know me very well. Clarks covers all my travel back and forth, so I'm not shouldering the expense.
When I'm in the U.K., people ask what I'm doing. Obviously, I'm working most of the time, and then after work I'll try to hang out with my team, like going to dinner. When I'm in the U.S., I have more flexibility to do the parts of my job that are staring at a screen.
Does the jet lag get to you?
When I worked at Puma and traveled a lot to Germany, I always had the tricks like taking overnight flights and staying up all night. At Clarks, it has been a little bit tougher. It usually takes about one day to get over every one hour of time difference. Since it is a five-hour time difference, by the time I get caught up, I'm flying back home.
The jet lag has been more than I've ever experienced. I am a runner, so at times when I know I have to stay up, I'll go for a run in the morning or at night.
Still, it has been painful. You have to love what you do.
How do you maintain a personal life?
My wife and I live in Shrewsbury. She is a fitness instructor. We have an 8-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. Both are in Shrewsbury Public Schools and are very active in dance, lacrosse, you name it.
Technology helps. We are on FaceTime every day when I'm away. When I'm at home – even though I'm still working long hours in Waltham – I am very family-oriented because I do travel so much.
My kids do visit me in the Waltham office. If they have a half day at school or school vacation, they will come for lunch. I want them to know the people I work with and the environment where I work. They love to see what I do all day.
I haven't brought them to England, yet, but I might this summer. They are dying to come to England.
My wife teaches at studios in Northborough, Westborough and all different places around the area. She has that flexibility to accommodate my crazy travel schedule. I'm very lucky.
This interview was conducted and edited by WBJ Editor Brad Kane.
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