Leading Through Uncertainty

#103 Daniel Astarita on overcoming adversity and innovation in retail

• Jude Jennison • Season 5

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Daniel Astarita is the Managing Director of Kesslers, a business that he bought when it went into administration. He’s also MD of a London-based mannequin business, having bought the assets from another business that had also gone into liquidation.

He explains how he took a risk to run the business in a different way. Instead of chasing revenue and profit in isolation, he realised that retail needs to be an experience for the consumer, particularly after the impact of COVID-19 on retail. Regardless of the sector you are in, there is so much to learn from listening to Dan’s story and leadership.

What really comes across when talking to Dan is how much he cares about the people and sees them as being fundamental to the success of the business. I love that he encourages his staff to ask questions and seek guidance as much as possible. Having space to be curious is so critical.

Dan was open about his leadership, his desire for fairness and honesty and spoke about the emotional toll it took on him when dealing with redundancies which I could really see when talking to him.

Where can you be more curious with your team and organisation?

 

Topics covered:

  • Acquisition of two businesses in administration (00:02:30)
  • Taking a risk and having a vision (00:03:22)
  • The emotional impact of making staff redundant (00:09:24)
  • Creating an inclusive workforce (00:15:58)
  • Purposeful leadership (00:20:57)
  • Shifting from a sales-focused to people-focused leadership approach (00:18:14)
  • Transforming retail into an immersive experience (00:23:19)
  • Leadership advice (00:32:29)

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