Getting Real Interviews
Elevating direct selling through leadership at the speed of trust
Bio: With a 30-year career, Garrett McGrath is a leader who has built field organizations of 200,000+ distributors and customers in 21 countries together with his wife, Sylvia, and served as master distributors and special advisors. In addition to being a keynote speaker, leadership coach and mentor, McGrath contributes to industry-wide conferences, publications, and boards. Recently he led the corporate team of The Happy Co., a publicly-traded network marketing company, helping it grow to $130+ million in annual sales, and serving as its CEO/president. Since 2012, he has also served as president of the nonprofit Association of Network Marketing Professionals (ANMP).
SSN: Tell me about your work with the ANMP.
GM: The Association of Network Marketing Professionals (ANMP.com) is a grassroots 501(C)(6) organization, founded in 2004. As a nonprofit, the ANMP is the only professional association that includes all three stakeholder groups within direct selling together: the independent distributors in the field; the company CEOs, executives, and founders; and the suppliers, supporters, and advocates serving the channel.
Building success and a sense of community with nontraditional solutions
Bio: Charla Gervers brings over two decades of experience to her role as senior vice president of sales for J.Hilburn, a leading custom-made menswear brand in the direct sales industry. With a proven track record of success as a senior leader in the sales, marketing and personal development arenas, she has led success across numerous product categories, including nutrition, skin care/beauty, energy, travel services, and girls’ and women’s apparel. Her most recent prior roles include serving as chief sales officer at Matilda Jane/Good Hart and vice president of field development at Scout & Cellar. Gervers’ passion is inspiring leaders around the world to live full out and go get the life of their dreams.
SSN: You have a reputation for creating nontraditional solutions in terms of finding new ways to profit, to approach training, etc. Why is the strategy of thinking differently important, and how does it give companies an edge?
Bio: Steve Fife likes to exceed expectations. And that might be putting it mildly. Fife brings over three decades and a lot of financial leadership experience to LifeVantage where he uses big-picture strategic thinking and an in-the-weeds work ethic to create a healthy financial organization by focusing on delivering a growth strategy while creating value for customers, shareholders, and employees.
Fife is passionate about bringing affordable, science-based products to market as well as seeing companies reach their potential. Before joining LifeVantage, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Evidera, Inc., a private equity-sponsored professional services firm that provides outcomes research, market access, data analytics and epidemiology services to pharmaceutical companies. Prior to that, he worked as Chief Financial Officer for several publicly traded companies, including Active Power Inc. and LECG. In addition, he served in several senior financial roles for Gilead Sciences, Amkor Technologies and JDS Uniphase. In other words, he’s been doing this for a while, and he enjoys it. Fife is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the State of California and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University.
Bio: Steve Fife likes to exceed expectations. And that might be putting it mildly. Fife brings over three decades and a lot of financial leadership experience to LifeVantage where he uses big-picture strategic thinking and an in-the-weeds work ethic to create a healthy financial organization by focusing on delivering a growth strategy while creating value for customers, shareholders, and employees.
Fife is passionate about bringing affordable, science-based products to market as well as seeing companies reach their potential. Before joining LifeVantage, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Evidera, Inc., a private equity-sponsored professional services firm that provides outcomes research, market access, data analytics and epidemiology services to pharmaceutical companies. Prior to that, he worked as Chief Financial Officer for several publicly traded companies, including Active Power Inc. and LECG. In addition, he served in several senior financial roles for Gilead Sciences, Amkor Technologies and JDS Uniphase. In other words, he’s been doing this for a while, and he enjoys it. Fife is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the State of California and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University.
Her thoughts on serving vs. selling and meeting people where they are
Jill Blashack Strahan, Tastefully Simple Founder & CEO, is a top female entrepreneur and inspiration to countless people across the nation. In 1995 Strahan launched Tastefully Simple offering high-quality, easy-to-prepare foods in a 1,200 square-foot shed with no running water. From packing orders on a pool table, to being a $143 million company within 13 years, to 11 years of declining sales, Strahan learned priceless business and life lessons. Recognized as an exceptional CEO, she has earned numerous awards for her achievements and unique philosophies. She published a book about her journey—Simply Shine: Stories That Stirred the Fire.
Her thoughts on the US launch of a global powerhouse and new ways of thinking about direct selling
Rachel Kellogg has spent over a decade in the direct selling industry, starting as a consultant in the field and working her way up to leadership. She joined the channel unexpectedly but fell in love with the way it gave an equal opportunity to all. After a successful 10 years in the field with Mary Kay, Kellogg was ready to take what she had learned to join the executive team at Faberlic as an integral part of their recent U.S. launch as national sales director. Her mission is to infuse a culture of love, inclusivity, and growth from the ground up and take Faberlic to No. 1 in direct selling.
Founded: 1997
Location: Moscow, Russia
Website: www.faberlic.com
The best moments from 2021’s Getting Real interviews
Connections and Conversations
David Bland, Publisher
One of my favorite assignments as Publisher is interviewing leading executives in the channel to seek their insights from the C-Suite. The Getting Real feature, published about six times per year, allows me to do that in the most fluid way possible: a Q&A format.
A direct selling veteran talks about the importance of technology and leadership in building global companies
By: David Bland
Dallin Larsen, a former Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year and Utah CEO of the Year, founded Vasayo in 2016. Prior to Vasayo, Larsen founded MonaVie in 2005 and grew that company from zero to nearly a billion dollars in annual sales in less than five years. Under Larsen’s direction, Vasayo’s philanthropic partnership with Hearts & Hands for Humanity has generated enough contributions to build more than 130 wells in Tanzania, Africa, delivering clean water to hundreds of thousands of people.
Founded: 2016
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah
Website: vasayo.com
SSN: Tell us about your history in direct selling.
My first experience with network marketing was with Nu Skin in 1988. I was in my late 20s and living in San Diego, California. I fell in love with the industry and what it could do for me and my family as well as others. About a year later, a gentleman called to tell me about a new company and asked that I meet with the founder. So, I interviewed with Myron Wentz, the founder of USANA. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was heading up sales for that company. We launched USANA in 1991, and I was with them for roughly 10 years. That’s where I cut my teeth and gained a lot of valuable experience.
His thoughts on his latest partnership endeavor and preparing their new company for growth.
By: David Bland
Bellia CEO Antonio Barrera is a born entrepreneur. His antique repair business in Mexico evolved into a major furniture exporter. Barrera then took over a prestigious French skincare brand that he still manages today. But his life changed completely when his longtime business partner, Gonzalo Artiach, introduced him to Curves founder Gary Heavin—the man that Ernst and Young named the best entrepreneur in the United States. Together, Barrera, Artiach, and Heavin successfully sold Curves franchises around the world and now will apply the power of their partnership to direct selling’s newest jewelry startup, their mutual creation, Bellia.