Cosmetic Executive Women Hosts First-Ever Women’s Leadership Awards

The Cosmetic Executive Women 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 & Skincare, Christian 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.”


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