In Conversation with Ellie Hamrick
Tell us about your background:
I'm an operations leader with 15 years of experience building luxury fashion brands from the ground up. I grew up loving fashion and always knew I wanted to be in the industry. I studied Accessories Design at FIT and went on to work for fine jewelry designer, Donna Distefano, where I straddled design and production management in her atelier.
I then spent the last 12 years at Sarah Flint, a luxury women's footwear brand, as her founding employee and eventual COO. I discovered Sarah through a New York Magazine article, and as a young woman finding her footing, her story really resonated with me. I reached out cold, she happened to be hiring, and brought me on. We started working out of her apartment together.
From there, I grew my career with the company. Every time Sarah Flint entered a new phase, I stepped into my next level of seniority. We scaled rapidly through years of triple-digit growth, a pivot to DTC, and five retail stores. I was eventually promoted to COO to lead the company's shift toward profitability and operational efficiency.
I'm currently transitioning out of Sarah Flint into consulting, with a focus on operational infrastructure and AI implementation for founder-led brands.
What do you wish you’d known when you started out?
To trust my own worth earlier. I spent a lot of my career feeling like I needed to catch up, like everyone around me had something figured out that I hadn't yet. That feeling drove an incredible work ethic that I'm proud of, and I wonder now if I could have had that same drive while also giving myself more kindness and grace along the way. I undersold myself for longer than I should have. If I could go back, I'd tell myself: work hard, give it everything, but know your value while you're doing it.
Best career advice you've ever received?
Bring your whole self to work. Not just your professional self or your personal self, but all of it.
What leadership qualities are important to you?
Empathy, first and foremost. Seeing people as people, not just a number. I also value leaders who create environments that are challenging, mentally stimulating, and curious, while still encouraging a healthy work-life balance.
What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?
Honestly, the work was never the hard part. Scaling the business, every new operational challenge just excited and invigorated me more. The hardships were always just a new problem to solve. The hardest thing has been stepping away from work I really cared about in order to keep growing. Pouring myself into something and then walking away, even when it's time, has always challenged me.
How do you define success in your career, and how has that definition evolved over time?
Work that challenges me, pushes me to grow, and gives me real meaning while allowing me to live my full life. That's evolved a lot over the years. I used to think the living could wait. Now I know it can't. Live your life how you want to live it right now, and make sure your work supports that.
How has networking contributed to your professional growth and success?
Like a lot of people who stay at one company for a long time, my network grew very deep in one area but not as wide as I'd like. What I'm finding now, in this next chapter, is that the doors opening widest are almost all from connections I built over the years. The people we work with shape our day-to-day lives more than we realize, and those relationships, nurtured over time, end up being the ones that carry you forward.
What are your top networking tips for building strong connections in your industry?
Don't let follow-up lag. Do it right away, solidify the connection, and stay warm over the years. That person could end up being more helpful than you ever expected. Don't let 30 seconds of work block a future opportunity.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-hamrick-309a2056/
