Each year, AEO honors one associate who has achieved significant accomplishments, personifies our values and who has left an indelible impact on our company and people. Over the next several weeks, we will spotlight the top three finalists for the 2021 AEO ICON.
AEO is excited to introduce Cara, Sr. Director, Social, Public and Influencer Relations, as a 2021 AEO ICON Finalist!
Cara joined AEO in 2020 and quickly became a driving force behind AE’s high-ranking reputation as a social and influencer brand. In her role, Cara is responsible for conceptualizing, driving and executing across all business-critical areas for our social first digitally native audience.
The work of Cara and her team is embedded throughout social media, as they create “thumb-stopping” content that puts AE at the forefront of youth culture and beyond. Additionally, Cara is at the heart of AE’s talent strategy, where she casts relatable and aspirational talent representative of our customers’ passions across music, gaming, pop culture, fashion and social responsibility.
She leads with an inclusion and diversity filter, partnering with people such as Addison Rae, Caleb McLaughlin, Coco Gauff, Chase Stokes, Jenna Ortega, Madison Bailey and MXMToon. These partnerships amplified the AE brand and most recently delivered one of AE’s best campaigns ever.
Cara’s advancements in the online space have pushed AEO to nothing short of viral: she launched two collaborations with gamers this year, put AE at the center of the metaverse and created AEO’s first line of AE NFTs that sold out within 30 minutes ..the second sold out in 3 minutes … and the third in just 90 seconds!
Cara’s strives to ensure that AE leads with innovation, while remaining rooted in what our customers care about – including mental health and sustainability. She is a creative driver who makes certain our mission-based marketing efforts come to life in a compelling and meaningful way. In partnership with AE stores, Cara led the charge on the myAE Ambassador program – developing an outlet for our Brand Ambassadors to create on-demand style content representative of our REAL AE customers, ultimately leading to more organic relationships with our consumer audience.
What can we say – Cara makes our brand cooler. She constantly shows up with a kind heart, an enthusiastic spirit and a passion for leadership. Congratulations on your nomination, Cara!
