095: Sheryl O’Loughlin – Rebbl CEO is Killing It, with Sheryl O’Loughlin

June 10, 2019

Sheryl O’Loughlin

Sheryl O’Loughlin is in no particular order an entrepreneur, business executive, author, motivational speaker, wife and mother. She has served as CEO of top brands like Clif Bar and Plum Organics, and today she is the CEO and “Chief Love Officer” of REBBL, a company that produces super herb beverages and applies a portion of their profits toward the global fight against human trafficking. Sheryl has also served as a business mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs through Stanford University.

Sheryl knows the struggle to balance personal wellbeing and family life with business success. While simultaneously running an investor-supported startup and dealing with a particularly abusive investor, Sheryl’s husband’s company collapsed. The stress coming at Sheryl from every direction ultimately led to Sheryl developing an eating disorder. However, Sheryl chose to conquer her demons and worked to reduce her own stress, and her battle even led to writing her book Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart.

On this episode of Finding Your Summit, Sheryl O’Loughlin discusses the work she has done as a CEO, as well as the trials and challenges she and her husband had to face to get to where they are today. As an author, mentor, nonprofit advisor and motivational speaker, Sheryl shares her story in the hopes of helping to lift others up and help them find their own wellspring of strength. Listen to Sheryl’s story and learn how love, family and self-care can help you accomplish anything, no matter how challenging it might appear.

Listen to “Sheryl O'Loughlin – Rebbel CEO is Killing It” on Spreaker.

What You Will Learn:

  • Sheryl describes the challenge of finding balance between her personal time and her work as a CEO of a major brand. She shares the lessons she has learned about self-worth and valuing yourself outside of your company.
  • Sheryl discusses the differences between working as the CEO at a huge privately-owned company like Clif Bar and taking on venture funds as the CEO of Plum Organics, as well as the challenge of dealing with an abusive investor and the collapse of her husband’s company.
  • Learn how Sheryl’s husband taught her the meaning of unconditional love, and how she brings that knowledge into her leadership. She explains why she changed her official title at her company from CEO to Chief Love Officer.
  • Sheryl shares the challenge of getting back on her feet after a setback. She discusses going back into the c-suite as CEO of REBBL, and she shares the hard discussions she had with her husband about getting back in the saddle.
  • Sheryl talks about how the company REBBL started out as a nonprofit called “Not For Sale” with the goal of fighting human trafficking and sex trafficking, and how it became REBBL as a sustainable solution to lift up an entire region and encourage legal and ethical behavior.

Links to Additional Resources

Sheryl O’Loughlin’s track record was going very well. She had proven herself as CEO of Clif Bar and had brought women-targeted Luna Bars to the world. Things seemed to be going well, but then a series of major setbacks hit that pushed Sheryl over the edge. She had a toxic and abusive investor to deal with, and her husband’s company was beginning to fail. The weight of all the stress was getting to Sheryl, and ultimately she developed an eating disorder as a way to have some control over her life.

Still, Sheryl is a fighter, and she refused to allow herself to collapse under the strain. She stepped away from her position as CEO to mentor entrepreneurs through Stanford University, while she got her life back on track. Through her strong relationship with her husband and sons, Sheryl was able to recover and overcome the challenges she faced. Now she shares the lessons she learned during her climb back to the top, through her book Killing It and as a motivational speaker and podcast guest. Sheryl serves many nonprofit organizations as part of her efforts to give back and create a more loving and sustainable world.

Chief Love Officer

One of the most important lessons Sheryl learned as everything was falling apart around her was the value and meaning of unconditional love. Her husband’s love helped Sheryl overcome every obstacle, and today she brings that value of unconditional love to her role as CEO at REBBL, not only through her interactions with her team, but also through the way REBBL gives back to the world and contributes to the fight against human trafficking.

Sheryl O’Loughlin is the embodiment of love conquering all, and her story is a powerful reminder that everything we do and every relationship we have with others can come from a place of unconditional love. Sheryl works to share her love-based wisdom with others, through her book Killing It and through her work as a motivational speaker and mentor.

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