Meet our people

Summer Scott-Samuel, Director of Merchandising and Product Development, shares her experience as a graduate of Gildan’s Women in Leadership – Ignite Your Impact program, and how it has allowed her to strengthen her personal brand in the workplace.

In her role, Summer is responsible for creating and driving the product strategy. This includes merchandising, determining design per brands, and collaborating with customers and decorators to guide the making of Gildan’s products in a way that best serves their needs. Read on to discover her journey to finding her fit at Gildan: 

When my supervisor first informed that I had been selected to participate in Gildan’s Women in Leadership – Ignite Your Impact program, I was honoured that the Company saw me as a future leader. Recognizing the importance of investing in my professional development, I gladly accepted the offer. 

“Rather than offering standard training, the course really focused on me, empowering me to build my brand as a leader and navigate a senior-level role. More than anything, the program gave me the confidence to trust the knowledge and expertise I have and feel confident in expressing it.”

One of my biggest takeaways from the experience was learning how to position myself as a functional expert with upper management and leverage my autonomy to partner with my colleagues across the organization. As a result, more people within Gildan further recognized me as a product expert and became familiar with how I contribute to the business, putting their faith in me to make higher level product-related decisions.

The autonomy and confidence I gained has paid off. Since graduating from the program in 2021, I have been exposed to more senior level responsibility. As the Director of Merchandising and Product Development, I use my 20+ years of experience to enhance our product lines through innovation while continuing to create apparel that brings value to our customers.

What’s great is that the program also had a ripple effect on my personal development. With my enhanced professional brand, I was able to do more for the community around me. I had been involved with my alma mater, the University of North Carolina, Greensboro since 2017 when I created the Summer Scott-Samuel, Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies (CARS) scholarship. In 2023, I was offered a seat on the CARS Advisory Board. Combined with my learnings from the program, this position has allowed me to make more of an impact on the University’s students by helping them gain access to career and internship opportunities.

The Women in Leadership program was a great asset to my development and played an important role in shaping me into the leader I am today. To anyone considering applying for the next cohort, I’d say, don’t walk, run, and take the time to invest in yourself.