Neiman Marcus Group’s Ali Mize on Setting Yourself Up for Success as a New ESG Hire
Welcome to In the Office, an SFF series spotlighting industry insiders that work at the intersection of fashion, sustainability, ethics, and culture and the career paths that got them there. This week, we spoke with Ali Mize, Senior Director, ESG, Belonging, & Philanthropy at Neiman Marcus Group.
Mize oversees Neiman Marcus Group’s ESG strategy in her role, ensuring that it plays a key role in the company's growth and transformation. Mize is also responsible for leading a team of changemakers to drive sustainability, Belonging, and philanthropy initiatives across the enterprise and reports the company’s progress to their investors.
Below, Mize discusses the importance of gratitude as an ESG professional and why you should question the quality of your pitch, not the person, if someone doesn't like/adopt your idea. Plus, Mize shares a detailed look at her first steps as a new hire and her advice to other new hires stepping into ESG/sustainability roles.
How I got my start.
I’ve always gotten my “start” through other women giving me chances and investing in my growth. After graduating college, a woman I had interned with hired me to manage the Fulbright Program for the US Embassy in Belgium. I learned how to navigate the public sector and partner with private companies to drive positive social and environmental impact. When I came back to the US to pursue my Master of International Business degree, the private sector was beginning to call this “ESG.”
During graduate school, I worked part-time at a fixed-income asset management firm to learn how investors use ESG ratings and reporting frameworks to evaluate and improve companies’ social and environmental performance. Since then, I’ve held impact roles across industries, allowing me to build my technical expertise in investor relations, lobbying, and supply chain management. This broad range of stakeholder management skills and a strong network of uplifting women landed me the role I have today.
As the Senior Director of ESG, Belonging, & Philanthropy, I oversee Neiman Marcus Group's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy and ensure it plays a key role in the company's growth and transformation. I lead a team of changemakers that drive sustainability, Belonging, and philanthropy initiatives across the enterprise and report the company’s progress to our investors.
What sparked my interest in sustainable fashion.
My friend, Chelsey Evans, studied sustainable fashion while we were in business school together and later went to work for Nordstrom’s sustainability team upon graduation. Her experience sparked my initial interest in this space, and she’s someone I’ve continued to learn and draw inspiration from ever since.
Fashion is a democratic element of self-expression. We all get dressed every day. I enjoy improving that process and helping people align their closets with their values.
My first step as a new hire was to reach out to key stakeholders, and listen.
Internally, it was important for me to build relationships with associates from Merchandising, Stores, Supply Chain, Marketing, Legal, Finance, and IT – asking what they already knew about social and environmental issues in fashion and what they thought Neiman Marcus Group should do.
Externally, I engaged NMG’s investors, customers, brands, nonprofit partners, and trade associations in a materiality assessment conducted with independent, third-party consultants to identify and prioritize the company’s most significant ESG risks and opportunities.
To make sure this early feedback changed the way the company operates, I worked with Legal and Audit to incorporate the results from the materiality assessment into NMG’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process and wrote oversight for them into the Board of Director’s Audit Committee charter. I also used the stakeholder feedback to draft NMG’s 2025 ESG strategy.
The decision to build trust, uplift voices, and conduct research before diving into action generated alignment and buy-in that continues to fuel our ESG success today.
A typical day in my shoes.
My role has no typical day or week - that’s why I love it! From moment to moment, I may be working with a buyer to shop sustainable products, building a partnership with a nonprofit to increase workforce diversity, or auditing our company’s ESG data and disclosing it to our investors and Board of Directors.
The biggest misconception about my job is that I have to choose between impact and profit in my day-to-day work. The projects I lead create both.
The most challenging part of my job is inspiring behavior change. To overcome this, I focus my efforts on early adopters and amplify their success. The biggest lesson I’ve learned since joining the team at NMG is that what we accomplish matters, but how we do it is what will be remembered.
The best career advice I’ve gotten.
If someone doesn’t like or adopt your idea, question the quality of your pitch, not the person. Generally, their disagreement signals there’s something left you can improve.
The career advice I didn’t listen to.
Don’t challenge leadership is the worst career advice I’ve ever received. Sustainability leaders leverage data and diverse perspectives to challenge the status quo and drive daily innovation. Companies and leaders worth working for encourage that.
My advice to new sustainability hires.
As you look to change how the business operates, build strong relationships with others, then make your asks of them short, specific, and frequent. Celebrate and share their example with others when they successfully implement your advice. Quick, practical, high-visibility wins generate excitement and momentum.
My advice HOW to get started in sustainable fashion.
Follow news sources and attend conferences to offset a lack of experience with strong knowledge of industry trends, contacts, and resources.
When I’m hiring, I’m looking for someone who is genuinely curious, can toggle between strategy and tactics, and effectively communicates and collaborates to translate a passion for social and environmental issues into operational results.
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