After announcing the news on Instagram, Rachel Krasky is saying farewell to Australia, and packing her bags for the Big Apple!
The senior communications and community manager, who has looked after luxury brands YSL and Giorgio Armani Beauty for two and a half years, is heading to New York City in July.
BD spoke with Krasky all about the move, her exciting new role (within the L'Oréal family), career highlights and what she is going to miss most about the Australian beauty industry.
Congratulations on your announcement of moving to New York City! What prompted the big move?
To be honest it’s been my career goal since I started working over 10 years ago. I’ve always wanted to make the move to the U.S. so it's been something I’ve been striving for since I started out.
Additionally, my partner landed a job there nearly 18 months ago, so it’s been really challenging being apart for so long. Landing the job in the U.S. means we can finally be back together!
When do you finish up work in Oz?
July!
Can you tell us a bit about your new role over there?
I’m super excited to share I have landed a global marketing role with essie nail polish – I will be director of influencer and social, helping to set the global strategy for the brand in this space.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’ve always loved getting creative and pushing the boundaries on my brands locally, but to be able to take what I’ve been doing in a relatively small market and actually make my ideas come to life across the world is honestly a dream come true.
I’m also excited to work on a brand like essie that has a HUGE amount of brand love globally and is really keen to do something differently in the beauty space – that’s what gets me excited!
You have been working at L'Oréal Luxe as senior communications and community manager, what would be a few of your favourite career highlights in that time?
Some of my highlights include flying to Paris and getting to meet Dua Lipa when we launched Libre.
Another has to be launching the Armani makeup artistry community in Brisbane at The Calile Hotel – not only was it an incredible event, but getting to hear the wants and needs of Australia’s best makeup artists and make that genuine connection with them was just an unbelievable moment for our brand.
And finally, I have worked really hard to establish the YSL Beauty community which works with selected makeup artists, creatives and real people to give them incredible YSL Beauty experiences and create experiences like no other in the luxe beauty market.
What are you going to miss most about the role?
Two things – firstly, working on two of the best luxe brands in the market. The work and products YSL and Armani come out with are second to none and I absolutely love them to death.
But secondly, I am going to miss the relationships. I’ve met so many incredible artists, journalists, creatives and influencers and being able to work with them to make incredible things happen here, I will truly and deeply miss.
What do you love about the Australian beauty industry?
How welcoming and inclusive it is. Prior to this role, I came from fashion and I have always felt welcomed into the beauty space with open arms.
I love how entrepreneurial and creative we are here and it’s amazing to see how strong, versatile and forward thinking people in this industry are.
How do you think it will differ to the USA?
Great question! I think the USA will be quite similar but with even more brands and more people in the space. So I would say bigger will be the key difference.
The size of the landscape is so much larger and with that comes a lot of added complexities in the beauty space – more consumers, more brands, more influencers, more media etc.
Saying that, I hope everyone will be as welcoming in the U.S. as they were here at home!
Can you share who will be replacing you yet?
Not yet, the team are still working through it, but stay tuned!
Any advice for someone who wants to grow their career within the luxury PR space?
My biggest piece of advice is first of all having the mindset of ‘why not me’. People always presume they couldn’t do a certain role as it's too high end, or too difficult to get into or too competitive, but I live by the mantra of ‘well someone has to do it, so why not me?’.
Other than that, I think it's critical to understand the landscape and know what’s happening in the luxury space. I live and breathe what’s going on, not only with my brands, but all our major competitors.
Having this info at hand makes decision making much more informed and is critical when selecting the right talent and coming up with strong strategies for your brands.
How can people keep in touch?
I will be documenting my move and all that comes with NYC living on my Instagram - @rachkrasky and of course you can find me on LinkedIn as well - Rachel Krasky.
