Build-A-Bear Workshop is the very popular and highly interactive multichannel retailer that appeals to adults and children of almost any age.

Recently, Build-A-Bear’s new CEO Sharon sat down for an interview about her career with Patricia R. Olsen of the New York Times. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

After high school, I enrolled in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where I majored in communications and advertising. After a couple of years working at a Knoxville ad agency, I decided that if I was going to work in advertising, I needed to go to New York City. I used an advertising directory to select names at top agencies, called those people, and asked if I could send them my résumé and have them walk it to the human resources department.

[I was hired by an agency and since] some of my colleagues in the training program came from Ivy League schools, and I felt I had to prove myself. By doing more than expected, I completed the program in three months — nine months early — and was promoted to assistant account executive.

I found the client side of advertising interesting, which spurred me to attend Columbia University for an MBA. After that, I held executive positions at Mattel, working on the Barbie and Disney businesses. Eventually I moved to Hasbro, where I managed toy brands including Transformers, Nerf, and My Little Pony. In 2010, Stride Rite hired me as president of its Children’s Group. In addition to the Stride Rite brand and retail stores, I was responsible for marketing the Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, and Keds brands of children’s shoes. 

In June, I was recruited as president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, which allows children to create custom stuffed animals. It’s a tremendous opportunity for anyone to lead a publicly traded company, and with my history in children’s toys, it’s a natural next step for me.