A in the
DayBY KELLY HEITZ
NEAL KITCHEN, Ph. D. Chief Operating Officer, HydroPeptide,
Issaquah, Washington
When you have a problem-solving mindset, sometimes it takes a huge problem to set off a spark. At least that’ s how Dr. Neal Kitchen, chief operating officer at Hydropeptide, ignited his journey in the wellness industry.“ I had a pivotal point in college when my best friend developed Type I diabetes,” he remembers.“ Trying to understand the how, what and why of that disease sparked my interest to switch career paths and pursue a doctorate degree in molecular biology and genetics to better understand how we respond to heredity, environments and diseases.” Kitchen initially focused on the biotechnology industry, but was drawn into skin care by his sister, Annette Rubin, who was managing partner at HydroPeptide.“ I teasingly asked her if she even knew what a peptide was and then told her,‘ you do realize peptides and cell signaling is what I have been researching in the last eight years, right?’ She got super excited to learn this and this led to an initial consulting opportunity with HydroPeptide.”
Life!
The life of a spa professional is a continuous cycle of daily responsibilities that help make the spa world go round. Pulse asks ISPA members to give us a sneak peek into their daily lives to help us understand the roles they play and the difference they make on a daily basis.
Kitchen joined the company full-time in 2014 and has quickly immersed himself in the spa and skin-care industries.“ It has been a blast to learn more about traditional skin-care techniques and products so that I can combine what we already do successfully with the relatively new science of epigenetics,” he notes.“ Innovation is all about building on past success and I have been truly grateful for the team I have been with who had helped me understand.”
Kitchen says his colleagues and the amazing team he works with are among the reasons he loves his job. Being a naturally upbeat“ peopleperson” has helped him get to know his team members on a personal level, which he feels makes his job more rewarding.“ I think there are a lot of rewarding parts to my job, but I most love to hear when someone feels successful from something I have been a part of, whether it’ s a colleague and their projects or hearing testimonials from our customers who have seen a difference in their skin. I love to be part of that!”
On an average day, Kitchen sticks to a typical work schedule. See how he makes sure each day involves flexibility, movement, and creativity within his team:
★ 7 am Gets to work early and dedicates the first two hours of his work day addressing emails and trailing to-dos from the day before.
“ I typically have a wide range of communications that I manage, including accounts, customers, international teams, PR team, corporate team, education team, logistics and manufacturing, and key
advisors and doctors.”
★ 10 am Attends stand-up meetings.“ I think it’ s important that meetings are efficient and quick, so I love using stand-up meetings to review things like inventory, new product development status, and marketing and PR activities.”
★ 1 pm Dives into projects.
“ Typically, I dedicate the afternoon time to making headway on projects. Depending on the day, this could be reviewing content for our digital education platform, preparing for an upcoming presentation, analyzing forecast and demand for our supply chain, or new product development.”
★ 3 pm Connects with the team.
“ Frequently, this time is set aside to continue with a project or switch to a different one. I often need to follow up with several colleagues and their daily activities to see if anything needs to get done.”
★ 5 pm Wraps up the day.
“ Depending on the day, I often will be zipping home to help with my kids’ evening activities like taekwondo or will have some one-on-one with our CEO to review activities of the day and next steps.”
Kitchen, a big believer in“ moving” throughout the day, says he keeps his energy level at work recharged by taking quick walk breaks each hour around the office.“ My team usually teases me for my extra energy around the office, but it’ s contagious too!” n
WHAT’ S Kitchen’ s leadership advice to others? Click here for more insights.
March / April 2017 ■ PULSE 61