Women who lead: L'Occitane's Iris Kan on creating lasting impact with mental balance

This month, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE brings its Women Who Lead podcast series to Hong Kong in celebration of International Women’s Day, spotlighting female leaders across the region’s marketing landscape. The series unpacks leadership journeys, hard-earned lessons, and what meaningful progress truly looks like across marketing, advertising, and communications.

The second episode features Iris Kan (pictured), marketing director for Hong Kong and Macau at multinational skincare brand L'Occitane en Provence, which manages a portfolio of beauty and personal care brands operating in over 90 countries.

Kan has over 13 years of experience in beauty and FMCG industry such as L'Oréal and Unilever. Currently at L’Occitane, she is tasked at leading the team to drive overall brand marketing strategies with elevating consumer experience in the retail industry.

Listen to the full conversation here on YouTube:

For Kan, connecting with the target audience is paramount as a leader, regardless of whether a brand is global or local. "Across all touchpoints, we need to create a holistic and consistent image to engage with our consumers," she explained. "But equally important is the connection within the team. How I bring people and expertise together to create the greatest impact for the campaign and the brand—that is a really essential part. It's not just about the connection with consumers; it's about the connection between us."

Enablement is another key pillar of her leadership approach. "When I work with my team, my key priority is how to enable each of them to deliver their best—so they can have their own ownership and make their own contribution to improve things together," she shares. "Enablement and empowerment are crucial to my role as well."

Definition of beauty

When it comes to beauty, Kan believes the definition is deeply personal. As a female leader, she emphasised the importance of staying open-minded and curious, while constantly seeking to understand how to create connections across different markets and their unique needs.

"For example, some marketers might look at a campaign method from 10 years ago and try to formulate ideas or strategies the same way—but that won't work today," she observed. "We always need to evolve. The key to evolving with efficiency is staying connected to real life and truly understanding what consumers need right now."

Looking back on her career, Kan expressed gratitude for a crucial lesson from her mentor: the importance of mental balance.

"I was really striving for performance and results—I'm a very hardworking person who focuses heavily on impact," she reflects. "But when my mentor spoke to me about mental balance, it became a guiding principle for every decision I make. It's about being stable and consistent, and creating long-term impact."

In the fast-moving beauty industry, Kan believes this balance is essential. "The industry changes constantly. If we react to every high and low, we lose our clarity. Mental balance isn't just a personal practice—it influences the decisions we make for our brand, our team, and our business."

Today, Kan approaches mental balance as a core value. "It's not just about short-term results. I think about sustainability and how to balance every decision—considering not only the immediate outcome, but also how it can create impact in the long term."

As a mother to a five-year-old son, Kan describes navigating motherhood alongside her career as an ongoing journey of learning.

"Five years ago, when I started my journey with motherhood, I spent time thinking about how to strike the right balance—between the time I spend on each task, and the roles I need to play," she shares. "But I eventually realised there is no perfect answer. Even if I find balance at one moment, a month or two later, things shift, and I need to figure out a new way to balance all over again."

For Kan, this process is ultimately about mindset. "It's about being always ready and always thinking about how to improve—how to strive for better mental health and mental balance. And I think this is crucial, whether in motherhood or in professional life. When we work with teammates, we also need to think about how to be at our best to deliver impact to our stakeholders."

She views this as a lifelong pursuit. "Each life stage is different, so we need to think about how to find better balance at that moment—and keep improving, keep reprioritising, and make it work."

Mark your calendars for 24 June! #Content360 Hong Kong returns with a dynamic, one-day event dedicated to pivotal trends—from the silver economies to breakthrough IP collaborations, sports, and beyond. Let's dive into the art of curating content with creativity, critical thinking and confidence!

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