Revlon has appointed its first female CEO. This is actually something of an unusual move, because she’s the first-ever female CEO in the 86-year history of the company.
Inspired by our new President & CEO Debra Perelman! https://t.co/Od9WmxBqvR pic.twitter.com/RZEJHgaFsC
— Revlon (@revlon) May 23, 2018
Spoiler alert: Unfortunately there aren't very many. However, the ones who are there are nailing it.
The sad fact of the matter is even though the beauty industry mainly caters to women, there are remarkably few females in charge.
Most of the top brands – including Rimmel, Lancôme, Estée Lauder and L’Oréal – are all helmed by men. This is not a rarity – there are just seven female CEOs in the FTSE 100, even though there are nine called David.
However, you would expect the make-up industry to be doing a bit better.
This is what makes Perelman’s appointment so refreshing (although a few eyebrows have been raised because her father is the billionaire controlling shareholder of the company).
It’s depressing that a female-focused industry has so few women bosses – that’s why the handful of major brands that do have one need to be celebrated. Here are some of our favourites.
Charlotte Tilbury
Demetra Pinsent has been CEO of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty since 2012.
She has an impressive background – originally training to be a doctor, she soon left medicine for management consulting at the top tier firm McKinsey (with a focus on luxury brands).
Speaking about the brand’s founder, Pinsent told the Business of Fashion: "I knew I had met my perfect match in Charlotte — she is as ambitious, determined and opinionated as I am, yet complimentary to me in the way she thinks about opportunities — and I was taken by the idea of building a business together from the ground up."
bareMinerals
Susan L Jurevics has been President of bareMinerals since July 2017 and has a strong background in business.
Her past jobs weren’t actually in the beauty industry – prior to joining the company, she was CEO of Pottermore, the online Harry Potter portal. She also spent 12 years at Sony and has worked at other big brands like Mattel.
At bareMinerals, her focus is on digital distribution and communication. She told WWD: "I recognise the importance of creating an emotional connection with consumers in the digital realm, and ultimately how that share of heart can drive share of wallet."
Anastasia Beverly Hills
It’s apparent that rising to the top of an established brand as a woman is phenomenally difficult, which is doubtless why many of the names on this list are people who decided to set up their own empire.
Take Anastasia Soare, a Romanian-born beauty entrepreneur who opened up her flagship salon in 1997, and launched the first Anastasia Beverly Hills product line in 2000.
The brand is best known for its hugely successful brow products. Soare gave the Cut her advice for breaking into the beauty industry: "First of all, do your homework. You have to be the best and believe in your product. And you should not have a fear of being rejected, because you will be rejected."
Kat Von D Beauty
Katherine von Drachenberg is a tattoo artist who made her name on the reality TV show Miami Ink, but it’s really when she launched her eponymous make-up line that she reached huge success.
She has an instantly recognisable look with heavy eyeliner and red lips, which is why Sephora recruited her to set up her own product range (which is only sold in Sephora stores and online).
Even though her personal look is quite extreme, von Drachenberg emphasises that the brand is about inclusivity. She told Get The Gloss: "Kat Von D Beauty is for everybody – not just for gothic outsiders."
Kylie Cosmetics
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, it’s been impossible to escape the insane popularity of Kylie Cosmetics. And yes, reality TV star Kylie Jenner, who set up the brand, is also its CEO.
Jenner began the company when she was just 19, and many of her products regularly sell out. Time reports that in the brand’s first 18 months it made $420 million (£315 million) in retail sales.
She has spoken out about the difficulties of being such a young leader in business. She told People: "I had the opportunity to make like the coolest makeup line that I’ve always dreamed of. It’s really my only passion.
"I learned a lot though and just have experienced things that people my age do not even know how to handle. I do feel like people don’t take me seriously as a businesswoman because of my age and my reputation. But I do think they’re starting to. I like to prove people wrong."
While we're on the topic, we have to give a shout out to two other ladies.
Fenty Beauty
From what we could find online, it seems that Rihanna is not listed as CEO of Fenty Beauty. However, she is the founder and creator of the popular brand which has been hailed as one of the most inclusive beauty products on the market.
Givenchy
Clare Waight Keller made headlines recently after it was revealed that she designed Meghan Markle's wedding dress.
As Givenchy’s artistic director, Clare is a certified boss in the fashion industry and the second female designer to take the creative lead at an LVMH couture house.
Previous to Givenchy, Clare was creative director at Chloé and creative director of Pringle. #Goals
