We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Severine Ferrari a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Severine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with something countless entrepreneurs have had to figure out on the fly – how have you dealt with the rise of remote work?

Yes. It started organically as a lot of women I used to employ full time on site started raising families or building their own business while looking for freelance work. We had established trust which was really helpful. I think it is all about trusting people to achieve their goals/tasks without checking a time-sheet and when they do.

Severine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since moving from Paris to New York over 20 years ago to launch and develop the US branch of a French publisher, my passion has always been to create innovative and engaging content for North American audiences. While identifying emerging trends, I love to find new ways to reach and engage untapped audiences. Strategy, drive, leadership, and an ability to evolve and adapt quickly have been key to my success. Then there’s “un certain je ne sais quoi”… Though I am now a New Yorker through and through, I will always be the foreigner looking in. On many occasions, because of my unique background, I have been the first to forecast emerging trends in the US bridal and jewelry industry which has helped many US bridal manufacturers and jewelry brands grow.

GBP USA is one of the longest French owned publisher still active and successful in the US. I started as an employee and now own the company. Wedding Dresses Magazine (under my leadership as EIC/Publisher) was the first designer bridal publication launched in the US in 1991. Back then, we were focusing on featuring a new generation of international bridal couture designers including newcomers Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier and Reem. Later on, Wedding Dresses Magazine became the first mainstream consumer bridal publication to feature diverse fashion models for its covers. It was sold to Chinese investors in 2014.

When I launched Engagement 101 in 2006, a publication dedicated to jewelry and proposal planning, I anticipated that marriage proposals were becoming the new “Weddings” and that women would get more involved in picking the engagement ring. We launched a print magazine, a blog, original social content and a YouTube channel. We also decided to invest in creating and curating inclusive and diverse stories. In 2018, my Propose Too initiative emboldened more women to propose and share their reverse proposal stories. It is now a fast growing community.

For the past few years It has been my pleasure to share my experience and understanding of content creation through new partnerships and collaborations. I thoroughly enjoy being a guest at industry panels and contributing to features for other publications. It has been rewarding to consult behind the scenes with growing companies and help them with their strategy, content and branding.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We used to host a bridal event 2 times a year in a NYC luxury hotel with exhibitors from all over the world. 2 months before one, the hotel was bought by someone who wanted to destroy it ASAP to build once of the tallest building in Manhattan. So they cancelled all reservations and we had to find a new location and re-market it. It was stressful but I found a new location and made it happen with the help of my team of course!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Because I was bilingual, I was thrown in a leadership position by a French company not prepared. It has given me a tendency to micro-manage which I am still unlearning.

Contact Info:

• Website: yourengagement101.com
• Instagram: engagement101
• Facebook: engagement101mag
• Linkedin: Severine Ferrari
• Twitter: engagement101
• Youtube: engagement101
• Other: TikTok @engagement101