From fashion magazines to fertility – WWD

When Anne Fulenwider left her post as editor-in-chief of Marie Claire at the end of last year, she avoided all the usual concerts of editor-in-chief of websites writing books, consulting and lifestyle. Instead, she revealed that she would start a business focused on women's health.

The career change has raised some eyebrows in media circles, but it may not be the left field as you might think. At Tmrw Life Sciences, a new fertility technology company that digitized the freezing of eggs and embryos using robotics and software and raised $ 39 million in funding last year, scientists hired three media and fashion veterans to help get the message out to consumers.

Robbie Myers, Elle's longtime former editor, has been added to her board of directors; Melanie Goldey, most recently CFO of Refinery29, joined CFO and COO, and Ann Watson, previously vice-president of Henri Bendel, is now marketing director.

Of his decision to make these perhaps unexpected hires, New York-based Tmrw co-founder Joshua Abram said that although it is a "life sciences company" hardcore ", she is involved in something that is at the heart of the human experience and he thinks that these women have the right skills to communicate his message to the consumer.

And Tmrw's message comes at a turning point, according to Abram, with 300 million babies expected to be born through IVF in the decades to come. For its part in the fertility business boom that has exploded in recent years, the start-up, whose technology is deployed in 20% of American fertility clinics, wants to replace the manual methods of the analog system that have not not been updated in almost 50 years. years. This, he thinks, will reduce the risk of mistakes, such as the wrong embryo going to the wrong mother.

“We are working with clinicians and our unconditional scientific approach and we have perfected the solution. But in the end, it is the consumers who are concerned about the safety of the (IVF) process, "he said. "Because we will talk to consumers – not exclusively, but especially when, in a demographic context that resembles a lot of luxury fashion and luxury wellness, we were very interested in having women from these fields in leadership. "

In the case of Myers, who led Elle for 17 years until 2017, Abram approached her when she spent most of her career "talking to women of that age 39; a changing society ”. "It wasn't just hems. It was about what's going on in the world and how you interact with it," he said. "And we wanted to her sensitivity helps guide the way we talk about the rapidly changing world of IVF and how it intersects with life not exclusively, but largely of women from a demographic who were very familiar to readers from her."

According to Myers, She is often cited as one of the first magazines to publish an article on IVF. "We have done it often because it is at the heart of what it means to be a modern woman," she said. "When you run a fashion magazine or media company for women, you're talking to the whole woman."

Goldey, who had just led the sale of millennial women's website to Refinery29 for $ 400 million, told WWD that she had stayed a month after the acquisition, but that she had she knew she wanted to do something else in the healthcare industry. Before Refinery29, she spent nine years at Everyday Health, a digital media company that owns websites and produces content related to health and wellness.

"I knew I was probably not going to stay," she said. “I loved my stay at the refinery. It really gave me the opportunity to look into women's empowerment, how to spark conversation, bring the community together and lead the action. But I think we had a really good run there and that was a good deal. I really wanted to try something new. "

As for Watson, a longtime brand marketing expert who has held high-level marketing positions in national chains like Saks Fifth Avenue and Club Monaco, she enjoys being where the consumer is.

"For most of my career I have really spent time helping women look good, feel good about their fashion choices and for me it was a natural progression to continue support them where they were, which is much more an emphasis on health and well-being and certainly an empowerment of the choices around family building, ”she said.

"I am optimistic about how to continue to empower women and allow them to control their reproductive clock from what is imposed," she said.

For more information, see:

Life after magazines: what five former publishers did next

Robbie Myers leaves Elle amid rumors of additional Hearst departures

Vice Media acquires refinery29 for undisclosed sum