How do you explain your profession to people outside of the industry? What do you find most exciting and/or rewarding about this work?
Since launching Knix in 2013, Joanna has built it into one of the fastest-growing intimate brands globally. With a focus on impact work and product innovation, Joanna involves customers every step of the way by listening to product feedback and featuring them in the brand’s campaigns.
In 2013, Knix was one of the first intimates brands to showcase products in all available sizes and to use customers in advertising. In 2020, Knix also was the first intimates brand to feature an entire campaign of women over 50. Joanna has fought for representation in body diversity, paving the way for a needed shift towards inclusivity in the intimates category.
Joanna has been a champion for female entrepreneurship, stressing the importance of supporting female-founded businesses and being vocal about the gendered language and stereotypes that exist around women in business today. She holds multiple patents and helped invent the leakproof underwear category, which is pacing to become a billion dollar category.
Joanna broke the Canadian record for the largest publicly disclosed sale of a private company by a female founder when Swedish health and hygiene giant Essity purchased 80% of Knix, valuing the company at just over half a billion dollars.
Joanna’s long list of accolades includes being named Waterstone’s Most Admired CEO and an AdWeek Women Trailblazer. Recently she was named the national winner for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
In 2013, Knix was one of the first intimates brands to showcase products in all available sizes and to use customers in advertising. In 2020, Knix also was the first intimates brand to feature an entire campaign of women over 50. Joanna has fought for representation in body diversity, paving the way for a needed shift towards inclusivity in the intimates category.
Joanna has been a champion for female entrepreneurship, stressing the importance of supporting female-founded businesses and being vocal about the gendered language and stereotypes that exist around women in business today. She holds multiple patents and helped invent the leakproof underwear category, which is pacing to become a billion dollar category.
Joanna broke the Canadian record for the largest publicly disclosed sale of a private company by a female founder when Swedish health and hygiene giant Essity purchased 80% of Knix, valuing the company at just over half a billion dollars.
Joanna’s long list of accolades includes being named Waterstone’s Most Admired CEO and an AdWeek Women Trailblazer. Recently she was named the national winner for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
What are the core requirements of your job and how do you measure success?
What is one notable professional achievement you've made over the past year that you are most proud of?
What professional challenge or failure has stuck with you, and how did you embrace it?
What trend or technology do you believe will have the most profound impact on your work (and the work of your peers) over the next year?
If you could say one thing to your younger self, what would it be?
