Why is CEW membership important to you?

CEW creates a community within an industry. Any community that provides support, and encourages opportunity, generosity, education and fun, is great for all involved. CEW provides all these and is the most significant of its kind. It’s a great tool to connect, share, and learn, without competitive barriers.

Do you have any tips for getting the most out of CEW membership?

Networking is a huge part of our industry, and CEW is the best place to meet people across all aspects of our business. I can’t stress this enough, participate and connect! You’re guaranteed to form relationships that will help and influence your career.

What do you love most about working in the beauty Industry?

When I first got in the industry, I instantly fell for the fast pace and high energy environment, the creativity, and mostly the people. Beauty is a relatively small industry, and while people may change companies, I’ve found most don’t leave. I’m fortunate to have industry relationships that have lasted for decades, and several times these people have directed me towards job opportunities, or together we’ve created successful businesses. I trust and respect so many of these people and continue to rely on them for guidance and support. As I speak to family and friends in their respective industries, I rarely hear the same sentiment. The beauty industry is my second family, and that’s what I love most about it.

What advice would you give someone who is inspired by your career and one day wants to be in a similar position?

Seek opportunities that allow you to grow your product development expertise across categories. I changed companies several times to gain this experience, finding it unfortunate these opportunities weren’t encouraged where I was employed. Having development experience in every category allows me to now oversee multiple brands across multiple categories. This is even more important now as categories continue to merge i.e. makeup has skincare benefits and vice versa. Once I found the company that allowed, and even encouraged me to continue to learn and grow, and appreciated my broad expertise, I never left.