Elene Sigua: Dedicated To Expanding Business, Enhancing Product Quality, & Enhancing Community Involvement
As Alexander the Great once said, nothing is impossible for one who is willing to attempt it. LLC Giggles' CEO, Elene Sigua, embraces similar optimism and sees no bounds to what may be accomplished. Elene has two Bachelor's degrees, one from the University of Finance and Administration in Prague and the other from the Black Sea University of Georgia. When Elene was a student at the University of Georgia, she and a few friends created the first website dedicated to internet shopping. Elene opted to move on from that opportunity since she saw that Georgia was not yet prepared for online shopping. She enrolled in the two-year Master's degree in Marketing at Carlos III University of Madrid and graduated a year early. As a result, Elene was able to get a rewarding internship with Burger King's marketing department. Following her internship, Elene settled back into Georgia and worked in banking for the next six years, first at the Bank of Georgia and then at TBC Bank Group.
In addition, Elene was an early pioneer in the hotel industry. Fortunately, she was approached by one of the headhunters in the hope to undertake her career with the Giggles team and continue doing the job she enjoys. Elene joined Giggles as the company's Head of Marketing and quickly rose through the ranks to become CEO. Below is an excerpt of Elene's exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.
What motivates you as a new-age leader?
In my opinion, there are no limits to what may be achieved. There is no question that professional experience is important, but I think that anybody can be a leader, regardless of age. One of the most important things for a leader to do is to get to know the members of his or her team and the people they serve. In my opinion, nothing is impossible when you have a dedicated team of people who are all invested in the same thing.
Define LLC Giggles as an organization and its current position in the industry.
In France, three friends founded IZIPIZI 12 years ago. Originally intended for those with farsightedness, the brand has now become one of Europe's most popular and stylish options for eyeglasses. IZIPIZI glasses are made to fit the needs of consumers of all ages and preferences with their colorful, lightweight design, and premium materials. Whether your face is large or little, athletic or not, IZIPIZI has a pair of spectacles that will fit you perfectly. Giggles has been IZIPIZI's official Georgia distributor for four years. We want our eyewear to be worn in all of life's challenging situations, and as a business and as people, we are dedicated to helping those who work to preserve the natural world and the lives of all living things. At the company level, we are dedicated to enhancing operations, decreasing our environmental footprint, boosting product quality, and expanding our social initiatives.
What are some of the most captivating difficulties you have encountered so far in your professional journey? What did you learn and how did you overcome those challenges?
The pandemic has posed several difficulties. With so many barriers in place, we had to shift our approach in order to reach our target audience. We were doing everything that we could to inspire confidence in the future and drive productivity among our workforce.
"In my opinion, nothing is impossible when you have a dedicated team of people who are all invested in the same thing"
Another difficulty we faced was adjusting the structure locally to better suit our clients and their purchase habits since our brand is managed from overseas.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
My personal motto in life is "Believe you can and you're halfway there", which is a statement from Theodore Roosevelt.
I also like to remind myself of a quote from Dale Carnegie: "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. "There is no doubt that if we follow the advice in these two statements, we will be successful in all aspects of our life.
As the CEO, how are you planning to adopt new tools/technologies to revolutionize the company's services to be at par with current industry standards?
One of our primary objectives is universal accessibility. When making a purchase, the process should be quick and easy. Having a line of eyewear is a big undertaking. Our employees have been hard at work developing a 3D filter for our website in an effort to streamline the online purchasing process for our clients. Once this new function is put in place, buyers will be able to virtually try on a selection of glasses before making a purchase.
Based on your strong professional experience, what advice would you give to the upcoming leaders in the marketing domain?
Be real, be creative, there are no bad ideas. Believe in yourself and present your ideas to attain achievement! Admit your errors and roll with the punches; remember that every setback makes you that much stronger.