Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) Hosts First-Ever Women’s Leadership Awards

Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) celebrated women and achievement at the first-ever 2020 Women’s Leadership Awards this week. Celebrating the brightest minds in beauty, the event brought together the 2020 Achiever Awards recipients and 2020 Top Talent honorees, in addition to revealing the Indie26, 26 outstanding Black female-founded beauty companies disrupting the beauty industry and finally, the Industry Champion Award, being given to Jenny B. Fine.

Sponsored by Meredith, the two-day virtual event recognized fifteen female leaders for their performance and mark on the beauty industry. Additionally, thought leaders, including Taraji P. Henson, Founder and CEO of TPH by Taraji and Mika Brzezinski, Co-Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Founder of “Know Your Value,” among others, shared valuable insights on topics related to women’s empowerment, equality, and excellence. The personal stories and unique perspectives surrounding empowerment and inclusion from the diverse, cross-generational females served as inspiration for future leaders and for companies to continue supporting women’s advancement.

The 2020 participants included:

2020 Achiever Awards Recipients

  • Maly Bernstein, Vice President, Beauty & Personal Care, CVS
  • Erica Culpepper, General Manager, L’Oréal Multi-Cultural Beauty
  • Elana Drell-Szyfer, CEO, RéVive Skincare
  • Lilli Gordon, Founder & CEO, First Aid Beauty
  • Jane Lauder, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Marketing and Chief Data Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.
  • Alexandra Papazian, President, Laura Mercier

2020 Top Talent Honorees

  • Vivianna Blanch, Vice President, Integrated Consumer Communications, L’Oréal Paris
  • Ophelia Ceradini, Vice President, Digital Technology and Innovation, ELC Online, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.
  • Erum Chaudhry, Vice President, Marketing Beauty & SkincareChristian Dior
  • Maris Croswell, Senior Director, North America Pantene, P&G Beauty
  • Chopin Rabin, Vice President, Global Integrated Communications, Nars Cosmetics
  • Maria Salcedo, Vice President, Global Marketing, Consumer Fragrance, Symrise
  • Janet Chan, Vice President of Brand, nugg beauty *Members Choice

Thought Leaders

  • Mika Brzezinski, Co-Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Founder of ‘Know Your Value’
  • Kristy Click, Senior Client Officer, Ipsos
  • Laura Gurski, Senior Managing Director, Consumer Goods Division, Accenture
  • Fran Hauser, Startup Investor at Hauser Ventures, LLC., Author of The Myth of the Nice Girl
  • Sarah Kunst, Managing Director, Cleo Capital
  • Sarah Willersdorf, Managing Director and Partner, The Boston Consulting Group
  • Shelley Zalis, CEO, The Female Quotient
  • Melissa Butler, Founder & CEO, The Lip Bar
  • Mahisha Dellinger, Founder & CEO, Curls Beauty Brand
  • Taraji P. Henson, Founder & CEO, TPH by Taraji

Additional participants included Beauty Industry Champion, Jenny B. Fine of WWD, Indie26, Notable Black Founders of Indie Brands and other beauty industry thought leaders.

“For nearly 70 years, CEW has helped to inspire women in the beauty industry to achieve – and advance – themselves and others,” says CEW President, Carlotta Jacobson. “We are thrilled to have hosted this first-time event, honoring the amazing women who embody the importance of growth within the beauty industry for women of all ethnicities, levels, and companies.”

All content of the Women’s Leadership Awards is available for purchase at CEW.org.

Sponsors of the event included Meredith, Harris Williams, 24 Seven, Anisa, Dermstore, Nordstrom, P&G Beauty, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, Badger & Winters, WWD, Beauty Inc, Symrise, MOSS, ULTA Beauty, Drunk Elephant, Beauty at Amazon, Olaplex, Birchbox, Consultancy Media, Marina Maher Communications, New World Natural Brands, Goodkind Co., CEI Collective and Kaplow Communications.

About CEW:
CEW is an international organization of 10,000 individual members representing a cross-section of beauty and related businesses. The composition of membership includes leading brands, indies, retailers, media, and suppliers. CEW’s primary purpose is to provide programs online and in-person to develop careers and knowledge of the beauty industry. CEW provides opportunities to connect and gain industry knowledge through networking events, trend reports, industry newsletters, interactive workshops, and industry leader talks. For more information, please visit https://www.cew.org/.