You know money talks, but do you know what it’s saying about your brand?
Learn key financial & growth indicators that signal it’s time to raise, strategies to identify & connect with the correct consumer investors, formulas for pitch crafting, and deal structuring tactics that align with your goals.
Anna Keller is an analyst on Mintel’s US Beauty and Personal Care team, and she joined Mintel with a strong background in the skincare industry translating trends and technologies into new products. Prior to her time with Mintel, Anna gained extensive experience at a contract manufacturer working across departments to drive product development. While Anna has focused on the beauty and personal care space in her professional career, sustainability, eco-minded innovation, and environmental policy have long been passions of hers. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a unique degree in Ethics, History, and Public Policy with a concentration in Technology and Policy.
Dawn Hilarczyk is a dynamic and innovative C-suite leader renowned for propelling consumer-driven organizations to new heights. With over 25 years of experience in sales, strategic development, and digital transformation, Dawn has played a pivotal role in reshaping companies ranging from large corporations to emerging start-ups. Her deep industry relationships and exceptional leadership have fostered trust across a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Dawn’s impressive career includes pivotal roles in some of the most prestigious names in retail and beauty. Brought to Borghese to lead the company’s Renaissance and restore it to its former status as a top luxury brand. Her strategic vision and leadership are central to revitalizing Borghese’s heritage and driving its future success.
In 2015, Priscilla Tsai set out to create a brand that would transform the beauty industry by empowering and celebrating people for exactly who they are. After years of not seeing her real skin reflected in the beauty industry and overpaying for a lack of results, she decided to start cocokind - a community brand rooted in transparency and accessibility.
With a commitment to high-quality formulas at transparent prices, cocokind develops every formula to deliver powerful results while being kind to sensitive skin. Their formulating philosophy is “a little bit often,” which means incorporating effective, clinical ingredients that can be used every day without compromising the skin barrier. Her products are accessible at every Target and Ulta in the country.
Priscilla was born and raised in Michigan and is a proud Taiwanese-American.
"I started cocokind to change the status quo of the beauty industry and break the cycle of “aspirational beauty. We are a company that doesn’t need to hide how we formulate, invests in highly effective but gentle formulas, and sets fair prices based on what’s inside the bottle. Most importantly, cocokind exists to ensure that all of us have a safe place in the beauty industry where we’re celebrated and accepted, exactly as we already are.” - Priscilla Tsai, cocokind Founder and CEO
Noellie Astruc holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry from CPE Lyon and a Business Master’s from INSA Toulouse, both in France. She began her career at L’Oréal’s Advanced Research and Innovation department, where she developed natural technologies for hair strengthening.
Guided by a strong passion for science, sustainability, and beauty innovation, Noellie has built a dynamic career in technical sales and business development. She started as a Technical Sales Engineer at Alban Muller, then went on to manage the full botanicals catalog as West Coast Business Development Manager at Croda. In her current role as Key Account Manager at Croda, she collaborates with leading global beauty brands and contract manufacturers to deliver innovative, high-performance, and sustainable ingredient solutions.
Throughout her career, Noellie has actively shared her expertise by speaking at various industry events. She is particularly passionate about neurocosmetics and next-generation beauty technologies, championing advancements at the intersection of science and skincare.
Jeremy Lowenstein, Chief Marketing Officer at Milani Cosmetics, is a seasoned consumer product marketing executive with proficiencies in brand building, digital and traditional communication strategy along with content development, upstream innovation, globalization, turnarounds, and integration. He is a trusted organizational leader with the ability to build and sustain high performing teams along with a strong global network of cross-functional partners to influence change and decision making with executive leadership teams. With a tenure spanning over two decades at companies such as Estee Lauder Inc., Coty Inc., Kopari Beauty, MeUndies and Milani Cosmetics - Jeremy Lowenstein has earned ever greater levels of responsibility—starting with his first role, in men's grooming and hair care at Aveda, followed by the fragrance division at Coty, up to his role at Sally Hansen, where he served as Vice President, Global Marketing and Product Development. Since then, he's held three Chief Marketing Officer roles at both founder-led and private equity owned brands including his current at LA-based Milani Cosmetics. Jeremy has extensive experience in brand marketing, innovation, optimization, globalization and brand turnaround and transformation.
