Discover how coveted brands are expertly balancing continuous innovation with their core values and authentic identity. By embracing forward-thinking ideas, brands are securing and marketing their differentiation in this hyper-competitive landscape.
Leadership & Founder Insights
Growth & Scaling Strategies
Marketing & Consumer Engagement
Aurelian Lis
CEO
Dermalogica
Aurelian Lis is the global CEO of Dermalogica, a subsidiary of Unilever Prestige. For over 30 years, Dermalogica has been committed to elevating the skin care industry through providing world-class education to professional skin therapists and salon owners, as well as cutting-edge, professional-grade products that deliver results. Dermalogica is a standalone company headquartered in Los Angeles and is sold worldwide. Since 2016 the company has embarked on a digital transformation that has redefined the brand to new consumers seeking healthy skin. Dermalogica’s FaceMapping® technology is just one of the many examples.
Danessa Myricks
Founder & CEO
Danessa Myricks Beauty
As a makeup artist, photographer, and entrepreneur, Danessa Myricks is one of the most influential leaders in the beauty industry and is widely credited for leading groundbreaking product development for some of the most popular brands before launching her own brand, Danessa Myricks Beauty, in 2015. Referred to as the “Willy Wonka of Beauty”, Myricks takes a revolutionary approach to product development resulting in award-winning, innovative, multi-use products like the Blurring Balm Powder, Colorfix, and the viral Lightwork Freedom Palette System, earning over 80 accolades and recognition from Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies List, Allure Best of Beauty, and featured on TIME Magazine’s Closers List to name a few. As CEO, she continues to push boundaries, fostering a global community rooted in love, creativity, and inclusivity while connecting hearts and minds through beauty.
Cindy Deily
SVP, Merchandising - Skincare & Global Initiatives
Sephora
Cindy Deily serves as Vice President of Merchandising, Skincare for Sephora US. In her role, she oversees a team of merchants focused on the continual development and improvement of the retailer’s robust and diverse skincare product assortment.
Since joining the company in 2006, Cindy has driven the strategic development of multiple categories at Sephora and leading industry-wide trend curation, including skincare, hair, bath & body, sun, wellness, clean beauty, CBD, and intimate care. Managing 100+ brand partnerships, she effectively nurtures brands from infancy to industry dominance – such as, Drunk Elephant, Tatcha, and Summer Fridays to name a few – and has established products such as dry shampoos and face oils as key categories across prestige beauty. Cindly also spearheaded and continues to lead and evolve the ‘Clean at Sephora’ program, including updating the initial restricted ingredient list from 13 to more than 50 ingredient groups.
Hugo Denton
Chief Growth Officer
Devcos
Hugo Denton is the Chief Growth Officer at Devcos and the third generation driving his family’s legacy in the beauty industry. He works with brands around the world to bring new products to life across skin, color, SPF/OTC, personal care, and haircare. Focused on innovation, speed, compliance and quality, Hugo is passionate about helping brands grow while building on Devcos’ 60-year legacy.
Paul Phillips
CEO
Flixmedia
Paul Phillips is the CEO of Flixmedia, a global leader in digital content syndication operating in over 100 countries and reaching more than one billion online shoppers annually. Under his leadership, Flixmedia’s cloud-based platform has expanded to over 1,800 retail partners, syndicating rich media content from the world’s top brands. By integrating AI, shopper insights, AR, and immersive brand experiences, Flixmedia is redefining how consumers connect with brands online, most recently accelerating growth within the luxury and beauty sectors.
With over 20 years of senior experience across media, technology, and retail, including at Virgin Media, Paul is recognized for leading large-scale transformation and driving operational excellence. At Beauty Connect LA 2025, he will discuss how brands can harness emerging technologies to elevate consumer engagement, express authentic brand DNA through retail partners, and unlock sustainable growth in the evolving digital beauty landscape.
Daniel Casiero
Principal
Prelude Growth Partners
Daniel is a Principal at Prelude Growth Partners, a New York City based consumer growth equity fund. Since 2017, Prelude Growth has invested in and supported leading growth-stage beauty brands including Sol De Janeiro, Naturium, Summer Fridays, Phlur, Tower 28, Westman Atelier, and OneSkin. Prior to joining Prelude Growth Partners, Daniel worked as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company in New York where he drove growth strategy for consumer and retail companies and conducted investment due diligence for private equity clients. Daniel began his career at The Blackstone Group as an investment banker advising companies on M&A and restructuring.
Ensure your beauty formulations are shelf-ready, going beyond efficacy to encompass crucial certifications and testing. Discover how to confidently position your products and craft compelling, marketable claims that augment your brand value with retailers and consumers alike.
Product Innovation & Development
eCommerce & Retail
Legal & IP
Andrew Koenig
Senior Technical Advisor, R&D & Regulatory
Goodkind Co.
Romain Gaillard
Founder & CEO
The Detox Market
Romain is the founder and CEO of The Detox Market. In 2010, he opened The Detox Market on Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA, as a collaborative, short-term pop-up shop aimed at providing education regarding the benefits of green beauty while also exposing consumers to hard-to-find eco-friendly brands. After the positive response and several more pop-ups, he opened the West Hollywood flagship in 2011. As one of the first purveyors of natural beauty products, Romain’s focus has always been discovering and incubating new brands and showcasing the brand founders’ stories, which reflect his own passion for offering non-toxic beauty choices. Now North America’s leader in green beauty, The Detox Market has since expanded to seven locations throughout Los Angeles, Toronto, and New York City, as well as several Beauty Corners in partnership with Café Gratitude, the plant-based restaurants in CA. The demand for the best in green beauty has also made the ecommerce shop www.thedetoxmarket.com a thriving platform, shipping worldwide.
Alison Kohlenstein
Vice President, Merchandising - Private Label
Ulta Beauty
Alison Kohlenstein serves as Vice President of Merchandising, Private Label Brands for Ulta Beauty. In her role, she leads a team focused on the development, execution, and growth strategy for the company’s owned brand portfolio.
Since joining the company in 2021, Alison has driven the long-term strategy for the owned brand portfolio, which includes makeup, skincare, bodycare, sun, and wellness. She led the strategic transformation of Ulta Beauty Collection—aligning it with the Conscious Beauty program through certified clean ingredients, cruelty-free formulations, and significant advancements in sustainable packaging—and continues to guide its evolution and positioning for long-term growth.
Nathaniel Weiss
CEO
Tone
Nathaniel is the CEO and Co-Founder of TONE, a fragrance-led personal care brand developed with top Gen Z content creators Kai Cenat + AMP. Previously, he was President of Nécessaire and held various roles at True Religion across product design, merchandising, digital and operations. He started his career at Bain & Co.
Legal & IP
Marketing & Consumer Engagement
Brian Ecclefield
Founder & Managing Director
Validated Claim Support
Jane Tervooren
Co-Founder and Director
Validated Claim Support
Neurocosmetics represent a transformative shift in skincare, merging neuroscience, emotional health, and beauty innovation. By leveraging the skin-brain connection, these formulations use clinically tested, emotion-responsive ingredients to influence mood, stress response, and overall well-being. This approach goes beyond aesthetics—targeting longevity, neurological health, and emotional resonance. By tapping into emotional wellness, neurocosmetics open new doors for innovation, consumer engagement, and brand differentiation.
Product Innovation & Development
Future Trends & Market Intelligence
Anne Young
Technical Business Development Manager
Croda
Anne is currently the Technical Business Development Manager at Croda, Inc where she is responsible for identifying and driving strategic growth opportunities for Beauty Actives, leading customer engagement across North America, and translating technical insights into impactful commercial strategies. She has a wide range of experience in the beauty and personal care industry, with expertise in product development, technical sales, and global business development. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from New York University, where she focused on peptide research. Anne has held strategic roles at BioCogent, BASF, Expanscience Laboratoires, L’Oréal, & J&J driving innovation and commercial growth across diverse markets.
Unlock the secrets to eCommerce success! Discover how to attract customers, boost conversions, and build lasting brand loyalty.
From AI-driven personalization to social commerce and omnichannel growth, discover the strategies top beauty brands use to scale and thrive online.
Marketing & Consumer Engagement
eCommerce & Retail
Michelle Miller
CMO
VEGAMOUR
Michelle Miller is an award-winning CMO passionate about building culturally iconic brands, driving rapid growth, and fostering global communities. With deep expertise in digital, social, and the creator economy, she thrives at the intersection of beauty, innovation, and culture.
Michelle has had the privilege of shaping transformative moments in beauty—Too Faced during its Estée Lauder acquisition, Kosas redefining clean beauty, and most recently, K18, where they pioneered biotech haircare. K18 became the #1 haircare brand on social media, earned 25 billion TikTok views and 50+ awards, and was acquired by Unilever Prestige.
Now, as the CMO of Vegamour, Michelle is leading the charge to build the #1 plant-powered hair growth & longevity brand, redefining hair wellness with innovation, authenticity, and community at its core.
Jeremy Lowenstein
CMO
Milani Cosmetics
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.
Hoss Mortezaie
Vice President
Stord
Hoss Mortezaie is Vice President at Stord, leading strategic growth and partnerships across the global logistics and supply chain ecosystem. With a proven track record at tier-one supply chain enterprises, he brings extensive experience helping leading brands and retailers scale through technology-enabled fulfillment and integrated logistics solutions. His work has supported global expansion initiatives across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Ashu Dubey
Founder & CEO
Alhena AI
Ashu Dubey is the Founder & CEO of Alhena AI, a leader in AI-powered CX solutions for modern retail brands. With a background in both technology and growth strategy, he has been at the forefront of shaping how e-commerce businesses leverage AI to drive revenue, elevate customer satisfaction, and unlock operational efficiency.
A top voice on the intersection of AI and customer experience, Ashu brings a pragmatic yet visionary lens to the fast-evolving CX automation landscape. Ashu is a vocal advocate of solutions that are not just intelligent, but also brand-aligned, measurable, and human-like.
Hugo Borensztein
Co-Founder & CEO
Omi
Hugo Borensztein is the Co-Founder & CEO of Omi, the Virtual Photo Studio used by leading beauty and CPG brands to scale content creation with AI and 3D. Before Omi, he led operations at Meta, where he witnessed firsthand the growing demand for scalable digital content.
Level up your ROI with engaging, authentic, long-term creator partnerships. Uncover the framework for budget allocation, best practice, and measurable impact to leverage viral moments and amplify brand advocacy.
Marketing & Consumer Engagement
Growth & Scaling Strategies
eCommerce & Retail
Julian Reis
Founder & CEO
SuperOrdinary
Juliette Tang
President
ONE/SIZE Beauty
Juliette Tang is the President of ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starrr, a brand dedicated to giving a voice to the unseen and unheard and the fastest-growing makeup brand at Sephora North America. Since joining in January 2023, she has focused on enhancing digital innovation, strengthening operations, and driving thoughtful growth.
With a background in digital-first beauty, Juliette has spent her career helping brands scale, build strong eCommerce foundations, and connect with consumers in meaningful ways. Before ONE/SIZE, she was Vice President of Global eCommerce at Huda Beauty, leading international eCommerce for Huda Beauty and Kayali Fragrances. She has also held leadership roles at NYX Professional Makeup (L’Oréal) and Zevia, where she contributed to the brand’s digital expansion and IPO. Earlier in her career, she worked in social media strategy at Zoosk and started her journey in technology at Google.
Patrick O'Keefe
Chief Integrated Marketing Officer
e.l.f beauty
A true digital and experiential disrupter, Patrick has spent the past 15+ years in the beauty industry focused on bringing brands to life with an integrated approach through Digital, Paid Media, Data Driven Marketing, Social, Influencer and Retail Partnerships. He joined the e.l.f. Beauty team in September 2019, where he brought his deep expertise to create the Integrated Marketing Communication team. Patrick is tasked with driving seamless integration and bullet proof brand consistency across all paid media, social media, influencer marketing and public relations for all brands in the e.l.f. Beauty portfolio. He is an integral part of the go-to-market strategy and helps lead the marketing efforts to explore new frontiers. Prior to e.l.f., Patrick was the Vice President of Integrated Consumer Communications at L’Oréal working on the Matrix and Biolage brands and driving results in the haircare and color categories. He also previously worked at Shiseido and supported hairdressers, makeup artists, nail techs and estheticians with the largest association management firm in the United States building their experiential marketing programs. Before the beauty industry, he worked at Walt Disney World and served in the United States Air Force.
Raye Boyce
Beauty and Lifestyle Creator
@ItsMyRayeRaye
RAYE BOYCE, known as ItsMyRayeRaye, is a leading beauty influencer, entrepreneur, and dedicated mother based in Los Angeles, CA. She rose to prominence on YouTube with her engaging beauty reviews, makeup tutorials, and relatable vlogs, amassing a substantial and loyal following.
As a top beauty influencer, Raye has collaborated with today’s top brands and launched successful product collaborations that highlight her commitment to inclusivity and representation. Raye’s makeup product line with Colourpop Cosmetics and BH cosmetics, and a hair extension partnership with INH have all sold out in just a few days. Her entrepreneurial spirit shines through in her ability to create and market beauty products that resonate with a diverse audience.
Beyond her professional achievements, Raye is a devoted mother who balances her career with her family life. She uses her platform to advocate for self-love, inspiring her followers to embrace their unique beauty and confidence. Raye stands out not only for her professional success but also for her ability to connect with and uplift others, making her a true icon in the beauty community.
Anders Bill
Co-founder/CPO
Superfiliate
Anders is the Cofounder and CPO of Superfiliate.com - the fastest growing platform for creator marketing. Superfiliate is the home for all aspects of your creator marketing: across affiliate, upfront influencer programs and creator-led advertising. Anders and his team have direct partnerships and integrations with Meta, Shopify, YouTube and TikTok to help some of the top ecommerce brands like AG1, Glamnetic, Armra, Clearstem and so many more run their creator marketing at scale
In an era of constant change and rising costs, resilience has become beauty’s most valuable asset. This session unpacks how leading brands adapt, protect profitability, and evolve with purpose - revealing the mindset and strategic decisions that turn volatility into sustainable growth.
Operational Excellence & Supply Chain
Growth & Scaling Strategies
Nadine Tapia
President
Latinas in Beauty
Irene Scharmack
CEO
Quick Box Fulfilment
Gisselle Hernandez
Founder & CEO
Glamlite Cosmetics
Gisselle is an Afro-Latina former undocumented immigrant, who defied the odds to become the founder and CEO of one of the fastest-growing beauty brands, Glamlite Cosmetics. She launched the business with just a dream and $1900 on a credit card from her bedroom. Despite being a high school dropout and stay-at-home with no investors, bank loans, or business experience, Gisselle was determined to overcome all obstacles. Now, Glamlite is one of the few independent-owned, Black and Latina founded brands to secure licensing partnerships with world-renowned corporations, such as Mattel, Warner Bros., Hershey's, and many more. The brand is scaling significantly in 2025 alone acoss DTC, TikTok Shop and retail. Gisselle is a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of chasing dreams.
Michelle Ranavat
Founder & CEO
Ranavat