For 40 years, Cosmetic Executive Women has been giving out awards recognizing the achievements of successful individuals in the beauty field.
Seven women will be honored during a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria. The number of recipients has grown over the years as more women gained influence in the upper ranks of the global beauty industry.
Through the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, the annual award events tended to focus on one individual, an indication of the scarcity of women in top corporate leadership roles. Since the turn of the millennium, slates of multiple winners began to appear, as gender equality became more pronounced in companies’ leadership roles.
Carlotta Jacobson, CEW president, pointed out that not all recipients may have moved into the c-suite — “not yet. But they are moving the needle.”
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This year, Lynne Greene, group president of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., will receive the most prestigious honor: the Lifetime Achievement Award. She is only the fifth recipient of the award, which was first presented to Estée Lauder in 1989, an event that put CEW on the map. Last year’s recipient was her son, Leonard A. Lauder, chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Cos.
Greene will be accompanied by five Achiever award recipients: Lorraine Coyle, senior vice president of U.S. sales at L’Oréal Paris; beauty expert Shannon Curtin; Sandra Main, global brand president of La Mer at Estée Lauder; Rita Mangan, senior vice president, sales, education and retail strategies, Shiseido Cosmetics America, and Kathy O’Brien, vice president of skin and marketing services for Unilever North America.
In addition, Sylvie Ganter, creator and founder of Atelier Cologne, will receive The Great Idea Award for Fragrance Innovation, which will be presented by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton will receive a Corporate Empowerment for Women Award, and Mary Dillon, chief executive officer of Ulta Beauty, will give a keynote address.
AWARD RECIPIENTS
Lynne Greene
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Lynne Greene, group president of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., describes her career as if it were a book. That’s because she plans to begin Chapter Three, which most people call retirement.
“One needs a new purpose in Chapter Three,” Greene said. “I’m looking for lots of new beginnings.”
As just one idea, Greene, an avid wordsmith, is contemplating turning her metaphor into an actual book. “It will not be fiction. I’m much more interested in the truth. I plan to give myself plenty of space to think about this and consider what I want to do.”
She should be able to find plenty of material after she officially retires on June 30 from one of the most successful careers in the industry.
When she announced plans to retire recently, the top Lauder brass lined up to sing her praises.
“From the moment Lynne joined us in 1976, I knew she was a star,” said Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus. Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer, declared, “Lynne is an extraordinary leader, colleague and friend. Her vision, exceptional creativity and ability to develop outstanding teams have inspired our people, built our brands and played an important role in growing the company.” But Greene undoubtedly will be thinking about more than just the past, especially as the industry evolves. “The concept of the beauty business will continue to get bigger [and] take on a larger definition,” she said. “It will become more democratic, too.”
Greene has spent the majority of her 40-year career at Lauder, minus a five-year detour at L’Oréal USA’s Lancôme division. She has moved through a succession of top positions, including the presidency of four Lauder divisions.
She recently highlighted her proudest moments, both at Clinique: the May 2012 launch of Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector, which spawned a reported $200 million retail sales franchise, according to industry sources, and the launch of the Chubby Stick that generated an estimated $140 million in retail sales. One of Greene’s most innovative strategies was to power the launch of Even Better Clinical with a national TV campaign, a tactic typically used in mass launches.
Greene’s achievements also signaled a new approach for skin-care marketers, focusing on solving skin problems like dark spots and redness rather than wrinkles, and has pushed to expand the concept of in-store service. Such foresight won her the respect of her team, who Greene has always championed. “I don’t manage people,” she proudly said. “I encourage them.” — Pete born
Sylvie Ganter
Great Idea Award for Fragrance Innovation
Sylvie Ganter, who founded Atelier Cologne with her husband Christophe Cervasel, isn’t afraid of bold moves. A case in point is the 2009 launch of her maison built around cologne at a time when the industry was driven by fashion houses or celebrity endorsements.
“How did I know it was the right time? Sometimes you just have to have the guts to jump,” said Ganter, adding Cervasel gave her the strength to transform her dream into a reality. She said she’s lucky her career path began at Hermès Parfums, which she called the “perfect” school, helping launch her passion for fragrance. “Makeup is all about fashion; skin care about science. Fragrance you can’t explain, there’s nothing rational about perfume,” she said.
Most recently, she cast aside conventional wisdom that Asian consumers are more interested in skin care and cosmetics than fragrance. “The future is we are headed East,” said Ganter, noting the company set up subsidiaries and opened distribution throughout Asia. Recently, Atelier Cologne unveiled a boutique in Hong Kong, its first in a shopping mall. Asia now produces about 20 percent of the company’s $40 million-plus in sales.
Shopping centers aren’t on the short list for Atelier Cologne in the U.S., with Ganter focusing on opening boutiques in cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, the first shops-in-shop will open in Bergdorf Goodman early next year. That joins four stand-alone boutiques: in NoLIta, N.Y.; Brooklyn, N.Y., and two in Paris. The collection is also sold in the U.S. at Sephora (where it anchors a relatively new specialty scent department), Neiman Marcus and other specialty doors.
Consumers are evolving in fragrance preferences, Ganter maintains. They are more educated, interested in raw materials and intrigued with product stories. “Brands are becoming less important than the product themselves,” Ganter explained. “Our industry needs to continue to have passionate people who are dedicated to concepts and don’t only do what has been done. Not everything has to be a big brand. Now is the time for new ideas to blossom.” — Faye Brookman
Sandra Main
Achievement Award Honoree
Multiculturalism has been part of La Mer global brand president Alexandra Main’s life since birth. Main, who is widely known as Sandra, was born in Hong Kong and raised in Australia with a Scottish father and a Chinese mother, giving her a strong understanding of the increasing convergence of cultures — which comes in handy, given that she’s responsible for overseeing La Mer’s growth in 60 countries.
“My diverse cultural background has helped me to understand how to engage with our multicultural consumer base,” said Main of the brand that was founded in 1965 and which she joined in November 2009.
Aside from her CEW Achiever Award, Main is especially proud of her La Mer experience, as it taught her to succeed in the skin-care arena. “When I joined La Mer six years ago, my experience was primarily running the international business and focusing on makeup,” she said. “I had no experience running a global brand in the skin-care category. I needed to learn how to build a global luxury brand and that’s when I realized it was critical to have the best team around me that was highly skilled in their respective areas in order to succeed. When you have a great brand, and great talent around you, it is hard to get it wrong.”
Main has been with the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. since 1995. Prior to joining La Mer, she was the global general manager of Bobbi Brown International, where she was responsible for crafting and executing the brand strategy. During her tenure, the brand expanded into 18 new markets. Main also worked at MAC Cosmetics for 10 years, where she led a global expansion into Asia, managing the brand’s growth for more than 10 countries in the region.
“Sandra is an expert in building brand equity globally,” said John Demsey, group president of the Estée Lauder Cos., when Main was promoted to her current role in 2014. “She will be converting La Mer’s aspirational positioning into meaningful consumer experiences around the world. Her leadership is best in class.”
The admiration is reciprocated. “John Demsey has always been my mentor,” she said. “He will always take the bullet for his team members and not all leaders would do that.”
Another mentor is Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus of the Estée Lauder Cos. “He is constantly teaching and sharing his knowledge. One of my most memorable experiences I’ve had was attending his symposium, where he personally teaches and shares with you his secrets of success. He leads by example and will never accept ‘good enough.’”
Before joining Lauder, Main held senior posts at Polo Ralph Lauren, Harvey Nichols and Italia Donna Ltd. — Julie Naughton
Lorraine Coyle
Achievement Award Honoree
Lorraine Coyle’s brand and retail experience are a winning combination. As senior vice president of U.S. sales, Coyle has helped propel L’Oréal Paris into a $2 billion brand in 2015. In her current role, Coyle oversees customer marketing and sales across the brand’s four categories, namely cosmetics, skin care, hair care and hair color.
Lorraine Coyle’s brand and retail experience are a winning combination. As senior vice president of U.S. sales, Coyle has helped propel L’Oréal Paris into a $2 billion brand in 2015. In her current role, Coyle oversees customer marketing and sales across the brand’s four categories, namely cosmetics, skin care, hair care and hair color.
A Kmart store served as the launchpad for her career. From there, she moved to Kmart’s corporate headquarters, where she worked in beauty before switching to the brand side.
“I didn’t take the traditional path,” Coyle told WWD. “I have always put my trust in the people who were leading me.” She named Karen Fondu, president of L’Oréal Paris, as a pivotal influence, calling her “the epitome of a cosmetics executive.”
Coyle acknowledged that success often comes with sacrifice. By Coyle’s count, she’s moved 13 times across four states to take on new opportunities. Despite the fast pace of the beauty industry, Coyle stressed it’s paramount to “take time to make personal connections” with coworkers and industry peers.
Prior to her current post, which she’s held since 2008, she was L’Oréal Paris’ vice president and national sales manager of cosmetics for eight years. Before joining L’Oréal, she held several senior management positions at both Kmart and Eckerd Pharmacy.
Additionally, she is a member of the board at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, an industry organization for chain-pharmacy retailers. — Molly Prior
Rita Mangan
Achievement Award Honoree
A Cosmetics Executive Women Achiever award is just one more honor in Rita Mangan’s already storied career.
Mangan is senior vice president of sales, education and retail strategies for Shiseido Cosmetics America, a role she’s held since February 2010. There, she oversees sales strategy and execution and training and education for the Shiseido and Clé de Peau Beauté brands within all U.S. distribution channels. She has also served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, North America and as senior vice president for cosmetics at Macy’s Merchandising Group, a role she left in April 2003.
Mangan joined what was then Federated Department Stores’ Bamberger’s division in New Jersey as a sales manager in ready-to-wear in 1980. She later switched to cosmetics, rising to senior vice president of cosmetics in 1992 at Macy’s East, which, by that time, had absorbed the old Bamberger’s division. Mangan moved to Macy’s corporate in 1996.
In fact, Mangan counts the Macy’s Inc.-Federated merger as one of her proudest career achievements. “Receiving the Achiever award is certainly an honor and a career highlight,” she said. “In a completely different way, developing the strategic plan for the merger of the Macy’s and Federated cosmetics businesses, and then getting both groups to buy into the plan so that we could execute it as one team, was another defining career moment.”
That’s not to say that Mangan doesn’t continue to have lofty goals. “I would love to put Clé de Peau Beauté on the map in the United States and give this jewel the recognition it deserves,” she said.
Her aspirations extend well beyond the office. “In my spare time, I’m learning to surf and have been working on it all summer long,” she said. “Most people would be surprised to find out that I’m a strong athlete. I love to play tennis, basketball, ski; I’ve run marathons and I can throw a football a pretty impressive distance.” She completed the New York City Marathon in 2003.
Mangan has also served as vice chairwoman on CEW’s Board of Governors, and was chairman of the Dream Ball for the American Cancer Society from 1999 to 2002.
A magna cum laude graduate of Monmouth University, Mangan was born and raised in New York, where she continues to live with her husband, Joe. She also credits her sister for placing her on the path to success. “I’ve had so many mentors, but my older sister Pat taught me the art of visualization,” said Mangan. “It’s been an incredibly powerful tool in my life.” — Julie Naughton
Shannon Curtin
Achievement Award Honoree
Shannon Curtin’s passion for the beauty business dates back to selling premium fragrances at her hometown department store in high school. She’s always made it a priority to understand customers, especially over the past 15 years, when she had profit-and-loss responsibilities at two of the biggest retailers in the business — Wal-Mart and Walgreens.
“I have had the privilege of welcoming countless brand and item launches to market and have also been there to say farewell to some of the same brands and item launches, too,” said Curtin, who was most recently group vice president, general merchandise manager for beauty and personal care at Walgreens. “My collection of vintage beauty products reminds me how important it is to stay relevant.”
For Curtin, the way to do that is constant contact with shoppers, a goal of a consumer magazine she co-created at Walgreens as an avenue to deliver meaningful information to the chain’s best beauty customers. “Many years ago, when I was a category manager, the [rush] of watching sales and profit grow was an addiction. Developing customer offerings that produce growth for both is still an addiction today,” admitted Curtin, who said she delights in live chats in stores and online to get into the psyches of consumers. “The highlight of the workday continues to be building relevant and unique customer-friendly solutions in this dynamic marketplace.”
What interests her in beauty right now are new consumer-friendly shopping models such as Birchbox, along with brands with “purpose-driven missions.” She believes those are the next generation of megabrands. “Brick is back,” she adds, noting she didn’t think stores were ever on the way out, despite many market reports to the contrary. “Having a brick-and-mortar store is a precious asset that, if executed brilliantly, allows a retailer the opportunity to get face time — in the literal sense — with a customer. In a world where accepted forms of communications are text, e-mail and occasional phone calls, looking into another person’s eyes to say ‘thank you’ touches a human sense that modern technology can’t replicate.”
Having touch points with consumers makes the beauty business all worth it for Curtin. “If you want a career that has purpose and supports platforms to make the world a better place to live, choose a career in beauty.” — Faye Brookman
Kathy O’Brien
Achievement Award Honoree
Kathy O’Brien has spent her career identifying big opportunities for herself and Unilever.
O’Brien, vice president of skin and marketing services at Unilever North America, oversees marketing and digital and e-commerce capabilities across many of Unilever’s power brands, including Axe, Dove, Caress, Lever 2000, Suave, Simple, Vaseline and Q-tips.
The executive welcomes a challenge. In fact, it’s what drives her.
“I am happiest at work when I am challenged beyond my comfort zone and need to pull together smart, agile teams to achieve our goals,” she said. “I absolutely love being surrounded by my teams and learning new things. Just last week we had a skin [-care meeting] off-site where we brought in all our digital-creative agencies to inspire us and push the boundaries of our current work.”
She has worked on the Dove brand for a number of years. O’Brien told WWD that Dove recently launched Pinterest.com/SelfEsteem, as part of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, which is designed to make its confidence-building activities and resources easily accessible to girls and their mothers. “We have reached over 17 million young people with self-esteem education to date and hope to positively impact many more,” said O’Brien.
Prior to her current role, O’Brien was Unilever’s vice president and general manager of foods in the U.S.
She also serves on the boards of Network of Executive Women and Cosmetic Executive Women.
As for what message she aims to impart at the awards reception, O’Brien said, “My goal will be to urge women to fervently seek out and strive for the job they love and can be passionate about.” — Molly Prior