- Beth Gaeta is the head of US innovation at Haleon — the company behind Advil, Tums, and Sensodyne.
- She is up at 5:30 a.m. and spends time exercising before getting her daughters ready for school.
- Gaeta often ends her day reading through Haleon product reviews on Amazon.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Beth Gaeta, the head of US innovation at Haleon based in Warren, New Jersey about her daily routine. It has been edited for length and clarity.
As the head of U.S. innovation at Haleon, I spend my days thinking about, listening to, and learning from colleagues, retailers, suppliers, and consumers.
It's work that demands curiosity, collaboration, and problem solving. I find continuous improvement motivating, and I love this role's focus on optimizing and advancing day after
I wake up at 5:30 a.m.
I'm an early bird. I wake up and log on to my favorite YouTube coach Sydney Cummings for a workout (while also watching Netflix — I like the political thriller "House of Cards"-like shows).
I finish with a short meditation to help me get my head in the game for the day.
I then get my two daughters ready for school and send them off to junior high
The first thing I do when I get to the office around 8 a.m. is have coffee
I'll also do informal chats with colleagues around our desks or we'll have a "walking coffee chat."
I then have meetings with my team
Later in the morning, I attend a meeting where I help make decisions on which new innovation projects we will initiate or advance. This month, one idea was implementing changes to make our packaging more sustainable.
Next, I touch base with my colleague
We go over P&L assumptions for new product proposals or budgets to support the high volume of consumer research we do.
Before lunch, I go shopping at our Haleon employee store
This is where I buy all of my family's everyday health and wellness needs.
I take my lunch break outside
Unless my days are very packed and I need to eat lunch at my desk, I'll use my lunch break to go outside and clear my head.
If I'm walking, I may turn on a podcast from NPR or the New York Times. Otherwise, I'll get my steps in by walking around the office.
I have afternoon meetings with my full team
With the leadership team, we start with a "Best of Me" exercise, which helps us understand how we can best support one another.
Everyone buddies up and we have quick "speed dating" conversations where each person shares with their partner what they need from the other person to be "at their best."
I may spend part of the afternoon in Haleon's Shopper Science Lab
This lab allows Haleon to take consumer research and model retail scenarios virtually and physically to better understand and enhance the consumer shopping experience.
A small team called our Innovation Incubator helps us learn our way into spaces that are new to us such as diagnostics, devices, or digital complements for our physical products. We meet regularly to discuss "aha moments" and learnings from our latest experiments.
I get home at around 6:30 p.m.
When I get home from work, I often get pulled outside to watch my younger daughter practice gymnastics on our trampoline.
We also try to take a walk together whenever we can
With the extra hours of sunlight, we have more opportunities to go on walks after work.
Then I'll make dinner for my family and help my girls with their homework.
I spend some time reading
If I have additional time to myself in the evening, I like to invest in my career development by reading business books or articles on innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship, and branding.
Two of my favorites include Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull (founder of Pixar) and Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One by Emily Heyward.
I end my day reading Amazon reviews
I squeeze in a few minutes of surfing Amazon reviews of our products or those made by Haleon's competitors. Then I'm early to bed at 9:30 p.m. so I can be early to rise all over again!