Focus on Leadership: Carolyn Haicl brings more consumer-facing talent to Shaw’s residential business – Jan 2026

Carolyn did her undergrad work at the University of Virginia, then earned an MBA from Emory. Her career has focused on marketing work for firms including Electrolux, Merck and Kimberly-Clark. 

While Carolyn was raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, her father, Guido DeMaere, grew up in Belgium, coming to the U.S. after college to pursue a degree at the University of Virginia. He met Catherine, a student seeking a graduate degree at Brown University. The pair have now been married for more than 50 years.

Carolyn and her husband, Chris, live in Chattanooga on Lookout Mountain. They have two children, ages six and eight.

Q: You received an undergrad degree from the University of Virginia (UVA) in foreign affairs and economics and then switched to focus on marketing and strategy when you got your MBA at Emory. Why did you choose these schools, and why the shift in focus?   

A: I chose UVA because it was a work-hard/play-hard school, and I was looking for that balance of academics and a fun college experience. Charlottesville is a great college town, and UVA has the most beautiful campus! Being from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also a thriving college town, UVA felt familiar to me but also new and exciting. I had to try new things, meet new people and learn a new town, which pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Plus, my dad earned a degree there, as well. 

Traveling was a big part of my childhood. Because my dad is Belgian, we traveled to Europe often to visit his side of the family. This experience really opened my eyes to the rest of the world and ignited my love of exploring new cities and countries. When I got to UVA, those experiences led me to study foreign affairs. I paired that with economics because I’ve always been good at math and felt it was a good balance.

After UVA, I worked at a distinguished law firm in New York City-Cravath, Swaine & Moore. I initially planned to attend law school but switched to business school because it seemed more interesting.

I was looking at strong academic business schools and chose Emory because of the people I met throughout the process. I love learning, so I began my MBA to do just that. Unlike most people, I had no identified career in mind. I chose marketing as my focus. But I continued to take a variety of classes, including investment banking, to learn more while I had the opportunity.

Marketing was interesting to me, but I didn’t really know what it entailed. My summer internship in brand management at Kimberly-Clark on the Cottonelle toilet paper  brand solidified my love of learning about the consumer and being a general manager. I loved the fact that no two days were the same.

Q: You have 18 years of marketing leadership experience starting with Kimberly-Clark then moving to Merck consumer products, to Electrolux appliances and, now, flooring. In some circles, they are all widgets. Give us your perspective on how the decision to buy differs. 

A: There are many commonalities across the categories. A strong foundation in marketing, understanding the consumer and their journey, focusing on the benefits for the audience, understanding the marketing mix and measuring it are all applicable. I was lucky to be trained and to learn the foundation in a consumer-packaged goods environment at Merck under some great leaders. In that setting, the brand/product manager is the general manager, so they own the P&L (profit and loss) and are also responsible for things like forecasting, the innovation pipeline and customer allocations (when needed). It gave me a great foundation for being a business leader beyond just the marketing communications side of it.

The main difference between home products and consumer packaged goods is that home products are the bigger purchase, which means three things: 

• The purchase journey is longer and much more complex because it is a significant investment that requires greater consideration. You can’t grab flooring at the checkout counter on a whim.

• The product lifecycle is much longer. It is likely that a consumer has never purchased flooring or appliances or hasn’t done so since a decade ago, when the options were completely different. 

• There is more opportunity to build relationships with homeowners to increase lifetime value. The ownership experience is very important in these categories, both for repeat purchases down the road and for brand advocacy. 

Q: Tell us why you like flooring now as your widget of focus.

A: First, I have appreciated the way people at Shaw and within the industry feel like a community.

Flooring is a very interesting industry and a marketing challenge. We can add more value to our retail customers when we help them realize with their consumers the advantages of our products and brands beyond just price and specs. It’s also important for us to elevate the value of flooring in homebuilding and renovation projects. Our research shows that while consumers often overlook flooring during the planning phase, it’s one of their biggest joys when the floor is finally installed and the space comes together. The right floor really sets the tone for a room, and we need to help people recognize that early, so they avoid making price-driven choices that compromise their vision or drop out of the flooring purchase process altogether.

Q: You started your focus in flooring as a consultant but then asked for a permanent role. What was the attraction?

A: Even when I began working with Shaw as a consultant, I could immediately feel Shaw’s commitment to its people, community, customers and culture. So, when I was given the opportunity to join, I knew it was a great organization in which to continue my career. I was excited to learn a new industry and lead a talented marketing team.

Q: Twenty years ago, this role at Shaw used to be focused on sample displays and graphics, trade show booths, truck and building graphics. Marketing was there to support sales. Tell us how the role has evolved today.

A: Marketing and brands help us set a vision that will appeal to consumers, impact our product innovation, drive leads to our customers and, ultimately, help us sell more. 

While we still support sales, we can do so more effectively by creating programs that drive traffic and conversions both in-store and online, and by considering the whole consumer journey rather than focusing only on a single touchpoint. 

It is a three-way go-to-market triangle between sales, marketing and product. We should all be working together to win in the market with the right offerings, right messaging and right place, rather than one of those functions being just backup support for the others.

Q: How is the dealer’s role in servicing the consumer evolving as the consumer becomes more tech savvy?

A: Consumers hold more power now than ever before because they have more information at their fingertips. Today, technology is the bridge that takes customers from the website to the jobsite. Most consumers start their journey online.  To truly build confidence, it’s critical they find consistent, clear and easy-to-use information at every touchpoint-in store, on dealer websites and on our websites. Consistency of information drives confidence and makes consumers more likely to move ahead with a purchase. Unclear or inconsistent messaging leaves consumers confused and questioning.  

Q: Do you think AI will enhance or hinder the consumer’s quest for finding the right floor and the right company to buy it from?

A: There is a lot of potential for AI to help consumers shop for flooring, and this is an exciting area when you think about long-term strategy, as more and more people turn to AI for information and shopping. AI tools could guide consumers through the purchasing journey by offering personalized recommendations, visualizations and search capabilities. 

As far as hindering, there are concerns there, as well, as brands currently have little control over where AI gets the information it provides the consumer. We know that the flooring journey is confusing-if the information available is not consistent at all touchpoints or accurate, there is a chance that consumers would not be getting the best information possible when using AI and might get more confused or potentially opt out.

Q: Share an ‘aha’ moment during your career wherein you figured out the best way to succeed.

A: One of the most important lessons I learned early in my career was the value of collaborating and being open to diverse perspectives, rather than insisting that my own way was the right way. Specifically, it was a situation involving a difference of opinion over how to message a new product, with marketing, sales and product each having different ideas.   I learned then to involve stakeholders much earlier, use data to make decisions rather than opinions (consumer testing in this instance), share that data widely, and be flexible in how to address requests/feedback. This applies to our customers within the channel, as well.

Q: What have you learned from the mentors in your life? 

A: I have been fortunate to have had many wonderful managers, mentors and cross-functional influences, all of whom have taught me something unique. These include Jessica Kudrick and Kim McCormack from Merck, and Amie Guy from Electrolux.

A couple of key lessons I’ve learned have been: 

• Being open to ideas and feedback from all areas.

• Using data to guide cross-functional and customer buy-in.

• Defining a repeatable process that empowers teams and sets them up for long-term success.

• Follow the consumer. The consumer holds the power with their wallet, so what delivers for them will drive success for us and our customers. 

• Don’t trade off getting it done right for adhering to a timeline. Find a way to make that up. Before that lesson, my bias was too focused on delivering on time and hitting deadlines at any cost.

Q: What character traits do you look for when you are building your core team?

A: I look for those with consumer-driven thinking balanced with strong customer and market knowledge-those who question the status quo, who can take feedback, ideate new ideas and test new things. Delivering on commitments is important to build trust. Adaptable and even-tempered are traits I also look for, and, lastly, they must be fun to be around!

Q: How do you balance the demands of this job with that of being a mom and a spouse?

A: Shaw really cares about its people, and I do not feel torn in many instances these days. I’m able to work hard and then go home and be with my family. That said, in my career, there hasn’t always been balance. I’ve tried to always be home as early as I can in the evening, spend time with my kids, and then work later if needed. I’ve had many work colleagues tell me, “Oh, I know when your kids’ bedtime is,” as they could see me get back online. But I loved the work I was doing, too.

Q: What do you and your family like to do when you get the chance to get away?

A: We love to travel, read, try new foods/restaurants and go on daytime adventures to new places around Chattanooga. As I mentioned, I grew up traveling and have passed that on to my kids. We’ve also taught them to be adventurous eaters! We like to alternate exciting city vacations with calm relaxing beach trips. Some of our favorites so far have been Tuscany, visiting family in Belgium and the Dominican Republic.  We also love Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina for closer getaways.

Q: What advice do you give your children about finding success?

A: I tell my kids that if you work hard, keep your commitments and treat people well,  the rest will follow.

Q: To take this role, you’ve had to move your family of four from Charlotte, North Carolina to Lookout Mountain (just outside Chattanooga). What do they think about this move?

A: We have been very lucky with a smooth transition. My kids are having a great experience at their new school in kindergarten and third grade. We are loving Chattanooga. There is so much to do every weekend with festivals and activities, great restaurants and beautiful scenery. It is exceeding our expectations.