The Business of Beauty Global Forum: First Speakers Announced

The Business of Fashion is pleased to announce the early speaker lineup for The Business of Beauty Global Forum, our inaugural annual gathering for entrepreneurs, innovators, big thinkers and trailblazers in beauty.

From May 30 to June 1 at Stanly Ranch in Napa Valley, California we will unlock the necessary essential learnings and collaboration to challenge conventional thinking, inspire innovation and reimagine the future of the global beauty industry.

Much like our renowned BoF VOICES gathering, we are convening a stellar roster of experts from the worlds of activism, business, entertainment, politics, finance, science and, of course, beauty and wellness.

Confirmed Speakers Include:

• Jean-André Rougeot – chief executive of Sephora Americas.
• Falguni Nayar – founder and chief executive of beauty and lifestyle company Nykaa, the first Indian unicorn start-up headed by a woman.
• Isamaya Ffrench – trailblazing British makeup artist, Off-White creative director and founder of her namesake brand, Isamaya.
• Jane Lauder – executive vice president, enterprise marketing and chief data officer, The Estée Lauder Companies.
• Ben Gorham – founder of Stockholm-based fragrance line Byredo, which was recently acquired by Spanish conglomerate Puig.
• Holly Mitchell – Los Angeles County Supervisor, who drafted and sponsored the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act as a California State Senator.
• Vasiliki Petrou – executive vice president and group CEO of Unilever Prestige.
• Dr. Dennis Gross – board-certified dermatologist, dermatologic surgeon and co-founder of his eponymous skin care brand.
• GaYoon Jung – senior vice president at Sulwhasoo, part of the South Korean beauty chaebol Amorepacific.
• Monique Rodriguez – founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, which was recently acquired by Procter & Gamble.
• Kyle Leahy – CEO of Glossier, who recently led the brand’s expansion into Sephora.
• Nadya Okamoto – co-founder and CEO of lifestyle period brand August.
• Beatrice Dixon – co-founder and CEO feminine health company The Honey Pot.
• Charlotte Palermino – co-founder and CEO of skin care line Dieux.
• Roxie Nafousi – self-development coach, speaker and author of “Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life” and “Manifest: Dive Deeper.”

For the full list of confirmed speakers and detailed bios, please see below.

We are also pleased to announce that following our successful partnership over the past several years at BoF VOICES, McKinsey & Company will be the Exclusive Knowledge Partner for The Business of Beauty Global Forum, which will coincide with the publication of a new co-authored report on the state of the global beauty business.

To apply for a place to attend the The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2023 in person, please click here.

Bibi Brzozka is VITA certified love, sex and relationship coach, holistic sexuality international speaker and energetic lovemaking guide. Having been a finance and banking professional for 15 years, today Brzozka promotes sexual health at global forums such as A-Fest and Summit LA.

Beatrice Dixon is co-founder, chief executive and chief innovation officer at The Honey Pot Company, a feminine hygiene and wellness brand. Founded in 2014 from her own kitchen, Dixon grew The Honey Pot Company into a plant-derived feminine care powerhouse, its products are found in 4.6 million US homes.

Isamaya Ffrench is a makeup artist, and the founder and creative director of her namesake makeup brand. In addition to working with photographers such as David Sims and Mert and Marcus on shoots for Interview, Dazed and Vogue Italia, she also helped develop makeup lines for brands including Tom Ford, Burberry and Byredo. Earlier this year, she was appointed beauty curator for Off-White.

Ben Gorham is the founder and creative director of Byredo, the Swedish fragrance brand best known for its range of genderless scents and candles. In 2022, Byredo was acquired by prestige fashion fragrances manufacturer Puig at areported value of €1 billion.

Dr. Dennis Gross is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon, and co-founder of his namesake skincare brand. Dr. Gross’ previous research on melanoma was published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Experimental Medicine and Journal of Medical Microbiology.

GaYoon Jung is senior vice president at K-beauty brand Sulwhasoo, part of the brand roster under South Korean beauty and cosmetics chaebol Amorepacific Corporation, which also includes Laneige, Mamonde and Etude House. Previously, Jung served as vice president of prestige beauty brand SK-II at Procter & Gamble.

Jane Lauder is executive vice president of enterprise marketing and chief data officer at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Granddaughter of founder Estée Lauder, Jane joined the company in 1996 after her graduation from Stanford University, and has previously managed two of its portfolio brands, Clinique and Origins. In her current role, Lauder leads enterprise-wide efforts to leverage business insights and analytics to accelerate growth through global consumer care and marketing planning.

Kyle Leahy is chief executive of Glossier, where she previously served as chief commercial officer. Prior to Glossier, Leahy worked at Nike, Cole Haan and American Express in multiple strategy, general management, digital and retail leadership roles. Leahy earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kleo Mack is chief marketing officer of Glossier, overseeing marketing, strategy, global communications, partnerships, insights and social media teams. Mack is also a veteran of L’Oréal and Tarte, where she also worked as vice president and director of marketing strategy, respectively.

Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell serves on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and was previously a California state senator. Since her election in 2020, Mitchell made poverty alleviation a countywide priority and has anchored an equitable recovery plan from the health and economic effects of Covid-19. During her service, Mitchell passed a landmark guaranteed income programme, made LA County the first in the nation to phase out urban oil drilling and has strengthened the County’s ability to quickly respond to mental health crises among unhoused residents.

Roxie Nafousi is a self-development coach, author and speaker. Her books “Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life” and “Manifest: Dive Deeper,” published in 2022 and 2023, respectively, are both Sunday Times Bestsellers. Nafousi regularly hosts manifesting workshops at companies including Google and Meta.

Falguni Nayar is founder and chief executive of beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa. Since its establishment in 2012, the retailer’s brand portfolio grew to include over 4,500 brands, as well as its own private label, available online and across 68 stores in India. A former investment banker, Nayar was the receiver of EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2022, and named on Forbes India World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Bloomberg 50 and Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies lists between 2022 and 2021. Nykaa’s IPO in 2021 raised over $650 million, rendering it as India’s first and only woman-led unicorn to go public.

Nadya Okamoto is the co-founder of August, a lifestyle period brand. She is also the founder and former executive director of Period, a non-profit organisation aimed at eradicating period poverty and stigma through service, education, and advocacy. Between 2019 and 2020, Okamoto was named in Forbes’ 30 under 30, Bloomberg’s 50 Ones to Watch and People Magazine’s Women Changing the World.

Charlotte Palermino is the co-founder and chief executive of Dieux, a clinically vetted and price-transparent skin care line. Previously working as editorial director at Cosmopolitan and then Snap Inc., she helped partners to develop audiences and a presence on the instant messaging and AR platform.

Vasiliki Petrou is executive vice president and group CEO of Unilever Prestige, the premium division of Unilever Personal Care and home to nine differentiated brands across luxury skin care and hair care, including Dermalogica, Murad, Tatcha, Paula’s Choice, Living Proof and Hourglass Cosmetics. Petrou holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, is a Fulbright Scholar, recipient of the Kellogg Foundation Fellowship recognising female leaders, and current chairwoman of Cosmetic Executive Women UK.

Monique Rodriguez is founder and chief executive of the hair care and beauty brand Mielle Organics. Established in 2014 out of her garage, Mielle Organics is now worth over $100 million according to AfroTech, and is carried in more than 100,000 stores in the US, including Ulta, Target and Sally Beauty. In 2023, the brand was acquired by Procter & Gamble while continuing to be led by Monique and her husband Melvin Rodriguez.

Jean André Rougeot is president and chief executive of Sephora Americas, where he oversees the prestige beauty retailer’s growth strategy in North and South America. Rougeot joined Sephora in 2019 after having served as chief executive at Benefit Cosmetics and Coty Division. He is a graduate of the ESCP-EAP French Business School and a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School.

Julee Wilson is executive director at BeautyUnited, a non-profit organisation supporting Black and Indigenous founders within the beauty and wellness industries, in addition to serving as beauty editor-at-large at Cosmopolitan. She was previously global beauty director at Essence Magazine and senior fashion and beauty editor at The Huffington Post. Wilson is a committed advocate for the representation of Black talent in fashion, and sits on the executive board of the Black In Fashion Council as well as the advisory board of Harlem’s Fashion Row.