Angelica Munson, Vice President of Clinique Global Online and Digital Marketing, has been named an Emerging Leader by 2013 Achiever Awards Honoree, Agnes Landau. Here, Angelica discusses what she did prior to entering the beauty industry, some of the best advice she’s received and her professional mantra.

Were you always a go-getter?


As the youngest of five children, I always had the opportunity to learn, observe and be inspired by my brothers and sisters while growing up. Born in the Philippines, I moved to New York when I was two.

What’s the smartest career advice you received?


My mother’s advice was to stay curious. She was very influential in my life. She was an ER nurse who raised five kids successfully and also had a successful marriage. She became a teacher and earned her master’s degree in her late thirties. Seeing that kind of work ethic in action gave me a model to shape my career by.


How did you wind up in beauty?


I became involved in beauty later in my career. In my early twenties, I began work in documentary film, where I stayed for 10 years. I was an assistant to a producer so I did castings, location scouting, reading manuscripts, script reviews and asset reviews. Then I got a job at Bertelsmann Media working on a website they acquired, and from there I worked on research, marketing, customer service, web service and design. I was promoted and experienced a lot of different departments. From there I went on to a consultant company doing product development. I joined The Estée Lauder Cos. from there.

Talk about your role.
I am Vice President of Clinique Global Online and Digital Marketing. I oversee all Clinique online properties throughout the world, which includes all brand sites and retail partner sites, plus mobile commerce properties. My role has recently expanded to also focus on digital marketing.

Do you have a professional mantra?
My professional mantra is twofold. One is to keep learning, keep connecting the dots, and always focus on problem solving. The second is be generous. There is a book by Adam Grant called “Give and Take” that makes you think about how you can help others as you build and create relationships in the work place.

What big skill sets would you say has proved invaluable that you didn’t anticipate?
Listening has a lot of advantages. That, and really observing and being empathetic; it’s a skillset that people forget.