At SunStar Strategic, our people are as successful in their personal lives as they are at work. Meet one of our team members, Hibre Teklemariam.
Hibre is pictured above with her brother, at the Great Wall of China
Our vice president and partner, Hibre Teklemariam, has had a lifetime of travels and adventures, "Growing up, my father’s work with Ethiopian Airlines took us around the world and consequently I’ve lived or had multiple visits to places like China, Greece, Italy, Germany and various places in Europe and Asia. Experiencing different cultures has helped me to develop and have an openminded perspective that allows me to be receptive to others’ views and ideas. It has also given me the ability to see opportunities in my encounters and appreciate complexity and to be receptive to a multitude of ideas."
Her travels and experiences contributed to Hibre developing an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. She grew up in a household full of self-starters. Her father opened offices abroad as the head manager of Ethiopian Airlines, her mother started and continues to run a licensing business, and her brother opened his own business developing innovative MRI machines. Hibre said that helping businesses prosper was “all she saw” growing up.
Hibre’s entrepreneurial path took her back overseas as an adult when she noticed a booming Chinese economy that she didn’t want to miss out on. After a year in China learning how they do business, she started her own businesses. Hibre’s first entrepreneurial ventures in China were starting an exporting company as well as an online leisure travel company. There, she learned that a great idea simply will not work without a proper marketing strategy. Understanding this lesson is one of the reasons she believes her role at SunStar Strategic is so rewarding. Helping firms create a winning marketing strategy is a part of what we do so well.
After her Chinese business ventures, Hibre joined the SunStar Strategic team in 2007 and is both a vice president and partner. She believes the environment she grew up in and her previous business ventures have helped her understand the importance of public relations and marketing for a business. She loves working with entrepreneurial clients and helping them grow through strategic public relations. “There is no substitute for the credibility and exposure that public relations brings.”
When Hibre isn’t working with our clients, she’s spending quality time with her daughter Eden or going on runs.
Hibre Teklemariam in front of the Golden Palace in the Forbidden City, Bejing, China