Cosmetic Executive Women honor industry achievers. It’s the holidays, so everyone is buying and expecting presents, looking forward to their holiday bonuses, attending parties and celebrating with lots good eats and drinks. However it’s also very important to remember to celebrate those who inspire us, help us make changes in business and in life, and all those who help us achieve our goals. Let’s also celebrate achievers — get motivated, look to them as our role models, and learn from them.

The Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) celebrated five of its most accomplished female leaders at CEW’s 41st annual Achiever Awards recently. The honorees serve as an inspiration for future leaders and companies to support women’s advancement.

The 2016 Achiever Award Honorees:
• Katia Beauchamp, Co-Founder and CEO, Birchbox
• Beth DiNardo, Global Brand President, Smashbox Cosmetics and GLAMGLOW
• Michelle Freyre, President, U.S. Beauty, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.
• Sarah Hibberson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, L’Oréal USA; and
• Marla Malcolm Beck, CEO and Co-Founder, Bluemercury, Inc.

In addition, CEW President Carlotta Jacobson and Frédéric Rozé, President and CEO of L’Oréal USA, presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Karen Fondu, President, L’Oréal Paris USA. Fondu is recognized for her extraordinary business success and commitment to championing women in and outside of the workplace, including the expansion of L’Oréal Paris’ philanthropic initiative, Women of Worth. She is only the sixth recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in CEW’s history. Fondu recently announced her retirement from L’Oréal after a remarkable 37-year career.

CEW’s Great Idea Award for Fragrance was awarded to Rachel Field, Co-Founder & VP of Discovery, Vapor Communications, for breaking new boundaries and developing digital scent technology to reimagine the transportive effect of fragrance. The award is presented by International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

CEW, in partnership with AAUW, also honored Unilever with the first Women’s Empowerment Award, which acknowledges a company that demonstrates their corporate social responsibility and commitment to empowering women. Through campaigns like #unstereotype, Unilever lives this mission to their core, believing that women represent the single greatest opportunity for human development and economic growth.

Alex Keith, President, Global Skin and Personal Care, P&G delivered a keynote address. A 25-year P&G veteran, Alex is credited with creating a new category with the launch of Olay Complete and putting mass male grooming on the map with Old Spice Body Wash.

“Recognizing women’s achievement and empowering each member’s professional ambitions is in CEW’s DNA. That’s why the Achiever Awards are such an important part of CEW and the beauty industry as a whole. Once again this year, we are recognizing an exceptional group of female leaders,” says CEW President, Carlotta Jacobson. “This year, we are proud to honor the remarkable Karen Fondu with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional career and contributions to the beauty industry, and to recognize Unilever for their outstanding commitment to uplifting and empowering women across the world.”

The 2016 CEW Achiever Awards are sponsored by Time Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., Arcade Beauty, DSM Personal Care, 24 Seven, Nordstrom Beauty, AAUW, Amazon Beauty, H20 Plus Beauty, Beauty Inc, L’Oréal USA, Rpr Marketing Communications, Coty Inc., Wells Fargo Securities, Links of London, Willis Towers Watson, WWD, Pixafy, Suite K, Consultancy Media, Kaplow Communications, Walgreens and Amway.

About CEW
Cosmetic Executive Women, Inc. (CEW) is a global, nonprofit professional organization with 8,000 global members, both men and women, from over 2,250 companies in the beauty and related industries. CEW brings the beauty community together, at every stage of their careers, from every facet of the industry. CEW leads the conversation in beauty, addressing topics that are shaping the future of the industry and provides unparalleled access to industry influencers and thought leaders. CEW provides the connections, tools and leadership development resources to move careers forward. CEW recognizes professional achievement and innovation in the industry to inspire the next generation of leaders. CEW is based in New York City, and also hosts events for the beauty community in Los Angeles. Additionally, CEW has associated organizations in France and the United Kingdom. The CEW Foundation supports Cancer and Careers, a comprehensive program for people balancing work and cancer. For more information, log on to cew.org.

About Karen Fondu
Karen T. Fondu, President, L’Oréal Paris, has led an incredibly successful career that spans over 30 years with the company. Since joining L’Oréal USA in 1979, Ms. Fondu has held various management positions in virtually all segments of the Consumer Products Division. She has used her extraordinary leadership, business expertise and strategic vision to establish and build some of the most admired brands in the beauty industry. Ms. Fondu’s early years with the company started in what was at the time the only mass division. In 1992, she was appointed Vice President, Sales of the L’Oréal Cosmetics and Fragrances Division, where she played an integral role in establishing L’Oréal as a major force in beauty, including its launch of Plenitude, the first prestige skincare line in the mass market.

From 1996 to 2007, Ms. Fondu held several high profile positions, culminating as president within the Maybelline New York • Garnier brands. Under her leadership, Maybelline New York became the leading cosmetics brand in the United States and Garnier took a commanding position becoming a household name with the successes of the Fructis brand and Garnier Nutrisse. Since being appointed President, L’Oréal Paris in 2008, Ms. Fondu has elevated the brand’s premium image through superior product innovation. She used service and education, enhanced in-store experience and compelling advertising to drive key product franchises to become category leaders, including L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare, the biggest haircare launch in the past 10 years. She strengthened L’Oréal Paris’ positioning as the #1 beauty brand in the U.S., winning more awards than any other mass beauty brand. Under Ms. Fondu’s leadership the brand’s iconic philosophy, ‘Because You’re Worth It,’ has flourished, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012. As president, Ms. Fondu also worked tirelessly to expand and globalize the brand’s signature philanthropy initiative, Women of Worth, which honors the beauty of giving back by recognizing women making a difference in their communities. Ms. Fondu also broadened L’Oréal Paris’ philanthropic footprint in 2013 supporting the Melanoma Research Alliance in their fight to help prevent, cure and treat melanoma. A longtime mentor for female executives, she frequently speaks and offers advice to future leaders. Ms. Fondu sits on the Board of Governors of Cosmetic Executive Women, Inc. (CEW) and Personal Care Products Council (PCPC).

About Katia Beauchamp
Katia Beauchamp is the cofounder and CEO of Birchbox, a leading beauty and grooming retailer offering an efficient, personalized way to discover and shop for new products. She and cofounder Hayley Barna launched the company in September 2010, redefining the beauty ecommerce experience by pairing a monthly subscription of deluxe samples – tailored to customers’ unique profiles – with inspiring editorial content to create a seamless path to purchase full-size products online. Today Birchbox has more than 1 million subscribers and operates in six countries, including France, Spain, the UK, Belgium and Canada. Prior to graduating business school and founding Birchbox, Katia worked in structured finance and commercial real estate for three years. Her deal-focused background and interest in the economics of the beauty industry were instrumental in starting and scaling the Birchbox business. A native Texan, Katia holds a B.A. in International Studies & Economics from Vassar College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She has been honored with accolades including Advertising Age Women to Watch, FGI Rising Star of the Year, Fortune 40 Under 40, Inc. 30 Under 30, and WWD Digital Innovator of the Year in the Prestige Beauty Category, among others.

About Beth DiNardo
Beth DiNardo is the Global Brand President of Smashbox Cosmetics. With Ms. DiNardo at the helm, Smashbox, the premiere L.A. photo studio-based makeup brand, now has a presence in 40 markets worldwide, and has achieved double digit sales growth and market share gains in every market. Beth has grounded Smashbox Cosmetics in the original photo studio principles of
creativity, collaboration and community, establishing core values and a culture that embraces action and innovation. She spearheaded the re-launch of the legendary Smashbox Studios resulting in a state-of-the-art renovation and experience that are critical to preserving the brand’s DNA. Ms. DiNardo has brought together a highly talented and energized team who have transformed the brand’s in-store merchandising to best-in-class, and trail-blazed into new digital spaces via the creation of the “Made at Smashbox” influencer program earning multiple CLIO awards for digital campaigns along the way. The team’s product innovation initiatives from the core equity Primer to the new color categories have driven Smashbox growth ahead of the market. Ms. DiNardo started her career at Pepsi followed by Tambrands and Revlon. She
joined the Estée Lauder Corporation in 1997 spending ten years at Clinique, followed by General Management roles at Rodan and Fields and Darphin. She joined Smashbox on July 1 2010, on day 1 of the acquisition into The Estée Lauder Companies family.

About Michelle Freyre
In her role as President, U.S. Beauty, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Michelle Freyre is responsible for the company’s high-profile portfolio of beauty brands including Neutrogena®, Aveeno®, Clean & Clear®, Lubriderm®, RoC® and Rogaine®. Most recently, Michelle was the General Manager of Neutrogena®, the largest brand within Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., and the leader of the company’s Los Angeles campus. Under her leadership Neutrogena® maintained its position as the #1 Facial Care Brand, #1 Cleansing Brand and #1 Acne Brand among the general population and Hispanics in the United States. The brand consistently outpaced competition, gained the #2 spot in the Sun Care and Facial Moisturizer Treatment categories, and widened its leadership gap in Cleansing. Michelle is respected for her exemplary leadership qualities and her achievements in fostering a workplace culture that accepts and embraces uniqueness. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.’s Los Angeles campus employs an extremely diverse workforce more than 600 strong which truly reflects the demographics of Los Angeles itself. These employees consider Michelle to be an effective and inspirational leader who takes the time to develop the talents of those within her organization. Michelle began her career with Johnson & Johnson in 1999 as a Marketing Manager at Neutrogena®. She has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility at Neutrogena® and the consumer companies of Johnson & Johnson in consumer marketing, trade marketing, sales and sales strategy. Prior to her General Manager position, Michelle served as National Sales Director for Johnson & Johnson’s consumer skincare. Before joining the company, Michelle worked in brand marketing for Pepsi-Cola Company. Michelle graduated from Yale University where she was Publisher of the Yale Daily News, and has an MBA from the Harvard School of Business. She is the Chair of the Marketing Committee for the Los Angeles Board of the United Way. She resides with her husband Joe and their twins Isabella and Lukas in Marina del Rey, California.

About Sarah Hibberson
In September 2008, Sarah Hibberson was named Senior Vice President of Human Resources for L’Oréal USA. The L’Oréal Group is the number one cosmetics company in the world with 2014 sales of 22.53 billion euros. Present in 130 countries with 32 International brands, L’Oréal employs more than 78,600 employees worldwide. Ms. Hibberson oversees all Human Resources strategy and functions for L’Oréal USA and the Americas including: Learning, HR Rewards, HR Services, HR Planning & Operations and HR Communications. In addition, she is responsible for all HR activities as they pertain to L’Oréal USA’s portfolio of brands which include: L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York/Garnier/essie, SoftSheen-Carson, Carol’s Daughter, NYX, Lancôme, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Yves Saint Laurent, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Diesel, Viktor & Rolf, Clarisonic, Urban Decay, Vichy, SkinCeuticals, La Roche-Posay, Dermablend, Redken, Pureology, Kérastase, Matrix, Mizani, Baxter of California, Decleor and L’Oréal Professionnel. With more than 25 years of experience in the Human Resources field, Ms. Hibberson is well suited for this role. She started her career at L’Oréal USA as a Human Resources Manager in the Operations function in Clark, New Jersey. From there she held a succession of positions before being appointed Vice President of Human Resources for Lancôme. In 2001, Ms. Hibberson was named Vice President of Maybelline and Garnier and two years later moved to the L’Oréal Paris Division where she held the same position. In January 2004, Ms. Hibberson was promoted to Vice President for the entire Consumer Products Division and in September 2008, was promoted to her current role. In October 2014, Ms. Hibberson took on additional HR responsibilities for the Americas Zone including HR Rewards, Learning and HR Services. Ms. Hibberson graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

About Marla Malcolm Beck
Marla Malcolm Beck is the co-founder and CEO of Bluemercury Inc., a high-growth luxury beauty retailer and cosmetics brand developer, founded in 1999 when she was twenty-nine years old. In 2015, Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) acquired the company. Ms. Beck also co-founded M-61 Laboratories, makers of M-61 Skincare, the first highly technical, natural cosmeceutical brand and makers of Lune and Aster Cosmetics, a vegan cosmetics line. Ms. Beck is often invited to share her entrepreneurship, branding, and innovation expertise. Bluemercury’s innovative retailing and human resource model has been the topic of numerous books, including Shopping: Why We Love it and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience and Be Happy at Work: 100 Women Who Love Their Jobs and Why. She has appeared as a guest on CNBC, CNN and Fox Business News and has been a guest speaker for WWD’s Beauty Innovation Forum, Harvard University’s Luxury Branding Speaker Series and Columbia University’s Lang Center for Entrepreneurship’s Distinguished Speaker Series. In 2014, Ms. Beck received an appointment by Harvard Business School as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and was named as one of Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. Ms. Beck was Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. Prior to founding Bluemercury, she was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She serves on the Advisory Board of Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation, the Board of Trustees at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C., the Board of Council for Public Leadership, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and is an independent director on the Board of Directors of The Children’s Place.

About Rachel Field
Rachel Field is Co-Founder and Vice President of Discovery for Vapor Communications, a Boston-based start-up which aims to make scent a more meaningful part of our everyday experience, creating sensory-enriched lives and helping people achieve higher levels of emotional and physical well-being. Ms. Field launched Vapor Communications in collaboration with Harvard Professor David Edwards in 2013, with the goal of bringing scent to digital communication. The work grew out of prior research done by Field and Edwards at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and was refined at Le Laboratoire in Paris into an experimental device designed to generate complex aroma signals in rapid succession within a finite personal space. After moving operations back to Boston, Vapor launched their first commercial product, Cyrano, with an accompanying mobile application known as oNotes. Roughly the size of a soda can, the Bluetooth-enabled Cyrano enables users to easily adapt their scent environment to fit their moment. Her passion for this space is motivated by a desire to provide people with a new experience and means of communicating information in the digital age. The Cyrano + oNotes platform adds a critical sensorial and tangible experience at a time when we rely so heavily on smartphones. Cyrano readjusts the balance between using our senses and using our smartphones; it triggers associated memories and enhances the emotional context of electronic correspondence. Cyrano (and its predecessor prototypes) has been featured in exhibits specially-designed by Ms. Field and her team to help visitors explore the nuances of scent at Le Laboratoire in Paris and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as at the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. Ms. Field’s work has been featured in Fast Company, The New Yorker, The New York Times, TIME, and CBS News. Ms. Field has a Bachelor of Science from Harvard University in Mechanical Engineering. She is also the founder of ReWire, a London-based non-profit aimed at reducing electronic waste in developing regions.

Bevs Lim also contributes to Huffington Post.