When you’re a leader in the fashion world, getting your start before everyone else is key.
“I’m an early riser and I like to get up early,” says Maloni Goss.
As the Chief Operating Officer of SUNO, an ethically-sourced women’s designer clothing brand, Goss has business to attend to as soon as she steps foot in the office. “I think being a part of the fashion industry can be very exciting— it can also be very competitive,” she says.
Goss is well-prepared though. She is a graduate of Spelman College with an MBA from Columbia Business School, and has worked for top luxury fashion brands like Chanel. In her free time she enjoys mentoring.
Goss manages everything from finance to merchandising for SUNO, and does it with the style and confidence of a women who knows herself and her industry. “A lot of times, particularly for African-Americans, you’re told to be careful how you act at work or you should act a certain way at work and that always made me feel like earlier in my career, I couldn’t really be myself,” says Goss. But time and experience has taught her to embrace her unique qualities.
“You should be yourself,” she says. “And the more that I was myself at work and let them into my personal life, I was supported more and really had sponsors and people who went to bat for me. That was a big part of my success.”
Goss is a Leader of the New School because she is a boss who is making a difference in her field and in the lives of those coming up, who want to make their mark on the world too.
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