Welcome to M2057’s Spotlight Series: In Her Own Words, which features dynamic, stylish, and powerful women who inspire us.
This month, we chatted with Jo Dutta.
Jo is a marketing executive who has worked at large multinational companies including Bain & Co. and PepsiCo. Now, she serves as a CMO and advisor for startup brands with a focus on female founders. Jo is originally from the UK but lives in Lincoln Park with her husband and nine-year-old daughter.
Special thanks to Sarah Kammerer for the beautiful photography for this spotlight.
Jo is wearing Amanda coat, Adele top, Kamala pant, Spiral t-shirt, Horatia mini tunic and Obi belt.
IN HER WORDS…
ON WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: I am thankful for the women who fought for our right to be feminists: the suffragettes, Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the women in my grandmother’s and mother's generations who created a movement before there was a movement. The women who taught us about disobedience, that when the laws are unjust you must break them.
WHAT I’M HOPEFUL FOR:The last two years have set women back, but I am still hopeful, and we can’t get discouraged. We are all here because someone before us didn’t get discouraged. We all need a circle of strong women; I feel so grateful that Maria is part of my circle of strong women who raise each other up. I am really encouraged by my daughter’s generation. She is nine and I love (and sometimes struggle) with her feistiness. It’s our responsibility to create female bench strength for the next generation.
WHAT M2057 MEANS TO ME: Bringing your full self to work is really reflected in how you dress. I started working in the city in London at the end of the generation of women that dressed as female versions of men. It took me two decades to start to dress how I wanted to and it’s still a journey. When I first met her back in 2008 Maria literally introduced me to color, at that time I only wore camel, gray, and black!
MY FAVORITE M2057 PIECES: There are so many. I wear M2057 pieces from the boardroom to the beach! I am living in the Horatia Mini Tunic and Lottie Blouse right now. They may be my new favorite pieces. I wear them day to night, at work and then at dinner or drinks. My go-to dress is the Benatar Mini Tunic in Black leather and Alabaster as well as the Vallari Mini Tunic in Vermillion.
WHAT I’D TELL MY YOUNGER SELF: It’s so important not to hide yourself. It took me so long to bring my whole self to work. I remember the first time that I brought my daughter to an ad shoot when she was four. She met the whole team and watched filming. The next day the director brought his son and told me it had never occurred to him to do that before.