Rhonda Shasteen

Chief Marketing Officer at Mary Kay Inc.

At Mary Kay for more than 25 years, and worked closely with Mary Kay Ash for 10.

Raised in Dallas, Texas. Married, 2 grown children.

At work, I enjoy helping women develop as leaders; creating solutions to complex problems;  learning new things. At home, I enjoy the cows, horses and garden; fresh country air and time with my husband; learning new things and discovering my authentic self.

With more time, I would: sew (again); exercise (more); run for political office.

syndication

  • Beauty Shopping

    by: Posted
    When Mary Kay chatted recently with women around the world about what they wanted in the area of beauty, one of the things they talked about was how they shopped for their skinc are and cosmetic products. For most of the women, it was "anything goes", meaning that they purchase their beauty products from all over -- supercenters, department stores, direct sellers, specialty stores and online. It's usually about what's convenient for her. So you could say that one thing women want when shopping for beauty products is EASY ACCESS. What she also wants is CONTROL over her shopping experience. She wants it to be fun, social and casual, and sees the opportunity to browse as a part of the experience. She wants to TRY IT BEFORE SHE BUYS IT . She wants the opportunity to touch and experience it before she lays down that hard-earned money. And she is much more likely to try a new product that has been recomended by a friend or family member. She wants PERSONALIZED BEAUTY ADVICE...
  • Let's Talk Beauty

    by: Posted
    In our recent conversations with women around the globe, we learned the "10 Things Women Want Now", which I've shared in previous posts. Mary Kay also wanted to hear what they were thinking specifically about beauty. When it comes to what women want in beauty, the list is short and simple. 1. Women Want . . . Natural Beauty Women believe that "true" natural beauty is about enhancing what you already have; that the way you "make yourself up" should be complementary to your assets or features, and not overshadow them. For some, natural beauty is associated with youth and staying young (notice that I didn't say "looking young"), and many admit that it does become increasingly more difficult to achieve as you age. In many ways, this aspect of beauty has little or nothing to do with makeup, and is more about acknowledging what is already naturally beautiful in themselves. (But don't think that means women don't want to wear makeup. See...
  • Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - The Final Chapter

    by: Posted
    We've reached the final piece of the puzzle in "10 Things Women Want Now", and it is the ONE THING that everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE!) needs to pay attention to right now. That thing is TRUST . Whether you're an individual, a small business, a multi-billion-dollar global corporation, a service provider, a charity, a government organization, you name it, if you're not focusing on BUILDING TRUST with the women who interact with you, you will not be successful in these times. Women value the intimacy and trust they have with their closest friends, their husbands and boyfriends and their family members. They are somewhat skeptical, however, when it comes to trusting the companies and people they do business with. Their trust must be earned. The best way to gain that trust is by being open and honest with her in everything you do. If you're not, you can bet she can "smell" it a mile away. That 'women's intuition' kicks in and once your intentions...
  • Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - Part 9

    by: Posted
    I bet you're wondering where I've been for the last several days, since I haven't posted anything new since last Thursday. Well, I've been out of the office, and as Murphy would have it, couldn't get the wireless device on my laptop to work. Thank goodness for the super folks back at corporate who quickly ordered me another wireless card and had it overnighted. I got it last night, so we're back in business! When we set out to learn from women around the world what they wanted out of life today, one of the topics that we knew we wanted to explore with them was the role of technology in their lives. In every single case, no matter which country we were in, the women brought up the topic long before we planned to start talking about it. Very early in the conversations, the women were eager to talk about how they used the Internet and technology to manage the social aspects of their lives, as an enhancement to their face-to-face relationships with family and friends...
  • Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - Part 8

    by: Posted
    We've learned so much already about what women around the world told Mary Kay when we asked them what they wanted. Today we're going to take a look at one of my favorite things - Pampering . Yes, today's woman wants a reason and a way to pamper herself, or better yet, be pampered by others. She sees the importance of treating herself and gives herself the permission to do it, but often feels like she needs to earn it before she can indulge. Pampering is seen as a vital part of the "complete" woman's healthy attitude. The indulgences she desires are not necessarily extravagant, and can be as simple as time to herself, or going "unplugged" for a while. Manicures and pedicures, facials, and special purchases are popular ways to pamper. Sometimes, getting together with other women to do these things, lunching with a friend or travel are the method of choice. For others, the pampering can take a more active form, like going to the fitness club, swimming, a...
  • Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - Part 7

    by: Posted
    Well, we've finally arrived at the piece of this on-going discussion that I've been looking forward to, and at the same time dreading. Not because it's bad in any way, in fact I think it's really good that women are comfortable talking about this subject. For our male readers, let me just say, don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger. When Mary Kay asked women around the world what they wanted in their lives today, they told us. In fact, there were ten consistencies that surfaced, regardless of what culture or region of the world the women were from. One of those ten things was MEN. . . sometimes ! The "sometimes" here is the critical factor. It seems that women today have a yin/yang relationship with the men in their lives. For single women, they definitely still have romantic notions, but many feel that husbands can become obstacles to some of the other desires they have in their lives, like their career. In Europe, women cited that being loved by a man...