Beauty Connect USA

Agustina Sartori

Agustina Sartori is the Sr.Director Innovation Experiences & Innovation Fund at Ulta Beauty and the founder & CEO at GlamST, an augmented reality (AR) technology company. The digital innovation team at Ulta Beauty works to create best-in-class guest experiences that underscore the beauty retailers’ leadership and deep understanding of consumer habits and desires. Sartori joined Ulta Beauty after the company’s 2018 acquisition of GlamST to help develop AR experiences that combine augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies such as GLAMLab. A San Francisco resident, Agustina is originally from Uruguay where she received her Telematics Engineering degree from the University of Montevideo. Throughout her career, she has successfully raised significant capital as an Endeavor entrepreneur, has worked with 500 Startups, Plug and Play, ANII and Startup Chile and with world-class brands such as Ulta Beauty, L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, Dufry, Clarins and Neiman Marcus, among others.

Aleni Mackarey

Chief Operating Officer at Base Beauty Creative Agency, Aleni Mackarey has spent her entire career growing beauty and wellness brands. She loves that this industry provides a platform to empower people to feel beautiful in their own way by giving them the tools to highlight their strengths and features and the encouragement they need to feel like they are their best selves. Aleni's background is in business- she holds her MS in Administration & is pursuing her PhD in Strategic Leadership & Administration. In her free time, she enjoys exploring NYC with family and friends and singing with her sister in their acoustic duo, Siisjams. 

Amanda Baldwin

Brandon Frank

Carol Hamilton

Cameron Abid

I started my career with BASF, 2 years ago, as Head of Sales for Personal Care in the US. Earlier this year, I took on an expanded role as the Business Director for Personal Care overseeing BASF’s Sales, Marketing, and Technical efforts in the US.  I hold a degree in Economics from Rutgers University, and prior to my roles at BASF, I spent 15 years at Croda in a variety of commercial roles covering Health Care and Personal Care. I am an active member of Cosmetic Executive Women, Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and Cosmetic Industry Buyers and Suppliers.

Conor Begley

Denise Herich

David Caballero-Lima

David received his undergraduate degree in Biology and his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Universidad de Extremadura in Spain. David took postdoctoral research positions at the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester, with both roles focusing on studying human/pathogen interaction  via tissue models and obtaining a greater understanding in the regulation of the  cell cycle and  vesicle transportation during morphological changes.  In addition he was involved in the development of point-of-care diagnostic devices for diseases such as fungal and bacterial keratitis and novel antifungal discovery.  

David was initially Services Manager at Labskin, responsible for all microbiology work and service projects, bringing his 18 years’ experience working with microbiology and host-pathogen interactions. 

As Head of R&D, David now leads the research department, focusing on the development of new methods for studying the native skin microflora, prebiotic, probiotics and antimicrobial effects of ingredients and formulation for pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical studies. He is also the scientific lead for the development of Labskin new consumers service; Skin Trust Club, a new concept of personalised skin care based on the analysis of the skin microbiome.  David is a key collaborator on international research bids, as a peer with leading international experts from academia and industry.

Dianna Rith

Dorian Morris

A true champion of inclusivity within wellness, Dorian Morris is a beauty junkie with deep expertise across categories from cosmetics to haircare to skincare to food/wellness. She is the Founder/CEO of Undefined Inc which includes Undefined Beauty, a clean, conscious, inclusive lifestyle brand focused on democratizing wellness and destigmatizing plant magic. The Glow Collection taps into the supercharged benefits of CBD to soothe, balance and heal whereas the new R&R Collection harnesses the power of adaptogenic mushrooms to detoxify and protect against daily stressors and there is continued category expansion on the horizon. Dorian believes in the power of plant magic in all its forms and has built Undefined to educate, normalize and demystify plant-based solutions for all. She believes we all deserve access to high-quality products that don't cost your first born child. Wellness shouldn’t be illusive or exclusive—let’s democratize it.

With a diverse leadership background, her previous experience spans Retail, CPG and Beauty—from leading US Marketing at Covergirl Cosmetics, spearheading Prestige Innovation at Sundial Brands and as an early employee and global Brand Manager at Kendo, LVMH’s innovative brand incubator. Prior to beauty, she started her brand management career at General Mills, sharpening her general management and brand building skills on legacy brands such as Chex Mix and Yoplait and started her career in the Macy’s buying office, mastering merchandising and portfolio management. She graduated from UCLA summa cum laude and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. A true wanderlust with an adventurous spirit, in her free time Dorian enjoys globetrotting (and has traveled to 60+ countries) and is a proud pet mom of a spunky Morkie named Monaco, who is Undefined's CPO (Chief Protection Officer).

Eric Clarke

Jill Granoff

Jackie Eagle

Jana Wright

Jana Wright is a partner with Moss Adams, LLP where she has practiced public accounting since 2007.  She provides assurance and consulting services to clients in the beauty and fashion industries. Jana’s specific experience includes managing audit and review engagements, acquisition accounting, cash flow projection preparation, and evaluating internal control and financial reporting processes. Her key to success is building strong, long-lasting client relationships. Jana is actively involved in the firm’s mentor program and is the firm’s lead recruiter for California State University, Long Beach. She is also a leader in Moss Adams’ Forum W initiative. Jana was nominated for CalCPA’s Emerging Leader Award in both 2018 and 2020.

Jill Granoff

Kimberly Shenk

Lada Rasochova

Mimi Ghosh

Mimi Ghosh is a client executive in the Technology & Disruptive Commerce Group at JPMorgan Chase.  Mimi covers high-growth companies within the consumer and technology sectors.  She is responsible for client management and business development.  As part of her role, Mimi provides treasury, credit, payment processing, F/X, liquidity and strategic capital structure solutions to clients.  Previously, she worked for Morgan Stanley in its Global Capital Markets Division and Raymond James in its Investment Banking Division.  She has completed transactions for a combined value of $55bn+.

Mimi received a BA in from Columbia University and currently resides in New York City. 

Melanie Bender

Ming Zhao

Nader Mahmoud

I started my career with BASF, 26 years ago, as Regional Marketing Manager in the United States after earning a M.B.A. in Marketing, Finance and International Business from University of Illinois, Chicago. Currently, I am vice president of Business Management Personal Care in North America and located in Florham Park, NJ. Prior to this role, I was Vice President of Market and Customer Development focusing on our customer centricity approach across BASF in North America. Prior to moving back to the USA, I spend 9 years with BASF abroad in different roles. I moved back to the USA from Singapore, after 4.5 years in Asia Pacific as Vice President of Marketing in our crop protection business. I moved to Asia from South Europe, where I lived in Barcelona, and as Regional Director, I led the crop protection business in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. I moved to South Europe from Germany, where I spend 1 year in our global headquarters as Global Marketing Manager. Prior to my international assignments, I spend 12 years in different marketing and business development roles in North America in our crop protection division.

Romain Gaillard

Ronie Schmelz

Richard Kestenbaum

Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries. He is a Contributor to Forbes.com where he writes a regular blog about trends in retail and consumer product businesses. He also appears regularly in print and other media as well as industry panels and speaking programs.

Before co-founding Triangle, Richard was a Managing Director at a boutique investment banking firm called Financo, Inc. While at Financo, Richard was responsible for a majority of the firm’s apparel industry transactions. Prior to joining Financo, Richard was a Partner and First Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. At Drexel, Richard was responsible for a group of 14 professionals doing middle-market mergers and acquisitions around the world.

Richard is the co-author of three books on finance and computer programming. He is formerly an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Business at the graduate program of the Stern School of Business at York University.

Richard received a BS in Accounting from New York University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Harvard University. Richard is married and lives in New York.

Click here to read Richard’s blog and follow him on Forbes.com.

Shana Randhava

Sarah Chung

Sarah Chung is the Founder and CEO of Landing International, the B2B technology platform unlocking efficiencies for indie and minority-owned beauty brands. A beauty industry veteran since 2003, Sarah is a sought-after beauty industry expert and trusted advisor to retailers. Since starting Landing in 2014, Sarah has sold over $20 million in retail sales and launched over 200 emerging brands into retail doors.

Shontay Lundy

Toto Haba

Walter Faulstroh

Yolanda Cooper

Yolanda is an inventor, serial entrepreneur and environmental activist. After launching WE ARE PARADOXX, the “cool & clean” sustainable hair & bodycare brand in 2019 she became the creator of Plastic-Free Beauty Day, now the industry’s biggest initiative tackling the use of plastic. She then launched sister brand SUPERNOVA, a range of game changing and patent pending hair tools, the first being the world’s first cordless 3 in 1 straightening iron, curling iron and wand. After successfully launching her brands with some of the biggest and best retailers in the market such as Ulta Beauty, QVC, Saks 5th Avenue and Urban Outfitters she now as her sights set on disrupting the mass market too.

Victoria Fu