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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 63 that's what I advise my clients. If it fits and it feels good, it's your size. Where do you see the future of fashion headed? I think that any thing goes in fashion right now. I love that you can really make it your own. Instead of always seeing the trends dictated by designers, I think designers and vendors have goen much smarter about how women dress. Now, designers give consumers more options than ever before. What advice would you give to female executives in the fashion business? I think it's really about learning lessons. I realized it the moment things were k ind of stagnating for me, when I felt like I wasn't mak ing an impact with my selling team. I made a conscious decision to change the things that I did. I could be there to listen to my associates and help them build their business. I didn't say any thing to anyone, but I remember my cosmetic manager came up to me and said, "K im, whatever you're doing , it's work ing for you, and I wanted you to k now that someone noticed." I will never forget that. It's okay to ack nowledge that sometimes you have to change the way you do things. Just because you make the change, it doesn't mean the way you were doing things was wrong , sometimes it's just what the business climate is dictating. I still have to remind myself of this ever y day. What ignites your passion apart from fashion and retail? My late sister, A my. In 1993, she was murdered in South A frica. Since then, our family has gone through quite a lot with that countr y. We have a foundation, e A my Biehl Foundation, established there. rough the foundation, we were able to facilitate conversation and bring people together on this important issue. Currently, we're tr ying to take the concepts of violence prevention and bring those home. A my's death had a profound effect on me and I was able to put life in a much different perspective. How do you juggle a work-life balance in an industry that doesn't keep traditional hours? I feel ver y fortunate that I was a general manger when I had my child. Today, I have a lile more flex ibility in my schedule than my selling associates and department managers. I'm connected to my phone and email constantly, and there are times when my daughter says "Mom, do you really have to answer that email right now?" ank fully, when we moved to Tampa, James was able to work from home. We didn't k now anyone here and we didn't have a support system. at enabled me to dig into my work and do what I need do at the store. It's hard to be the mom that oen can't be at the school functions. I think that's the part that is always the most difficult to reconcile. I usually tr y to take a weekday off to be the carpool driver with Elizabeth and her friends and then I work on Saturdays. What do you like to do as a family? We are an active family and love to exercise. I swim at 5 a.m. during the week, and when I don't swim, I foster my new obsession with Pilates. We enjoy being outside. We do a lot of walk ing and we do a lot of hik ing in California, but I can't call it hik ing here, in Tampa, because there are no hills. We travel oen. We tr y to get away on short trips; one of our new favorite spots is A melia Island. A lso, the whole family is into sports, so we tr y to get out to games and other sporting events. D "My sister's death also shapes who I am and what I do. It gave me kind of the balance in my life that I now have. To honor her legacy, I hope to be able to continue living up to who she was in my own personal way. I believe that it is important to connect with people, just by meeting someone new and showing an understanding and interest in their life. I think if everyone tried to be a little more like that, this world would be a better place." Kim Biehl e Amy Biehl Foundation Trust, founded in South Africa after Kim Biehl's sisters murder, is focused on violence prevention and peace relations among high schools and universities in the United States. Her legacy continues in Cape Town, South Africa, where the organization brings young people together through a variety of activities like sports, the arts and education to inspire and transform the lives of the next generation. AmyBiehl.org

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