Step into beauty & wellness' inner circle
Unlock the secrets to explosive growth and level up your competitive edge by connecting with the who’s who of beauty brands, investors, retailers, and industry titans.
Glow Up Your Network
Link up with your future investors or the next big brands in your portfolio. Position yourself for game-changing strategic alliances with beauty giants
Skyrocket Your Brand
Steal the limelight at the Indie Brand Spotlight, scale your brand while staying true to your values, and nail those meaningful retailer connections to boost your distribution strategy.
Shape the Future of Beauty
Get the scoop on the hottest trends and future forecasts with cutting-edge interactive discussions. Ignite revolutionary ideas that shake up the industry.
Meet everyone who matters in the beauty and wellness world
Our iconic advisory board
Rich Gersten
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
True Beauty Capital
Rich has spent the last 30 years investing and building great consumer brands at top private equity firms including Tengram Capital Partners, L Catterton, and North Castle Partners. Rich spent the last 9 years dedicated specifically to investing in the beauty industry, where he developed an extensive network of relationships that sourced many emerging growth brands with very limited access to institutional capital. Realizing the significant opportunity to address this underserved area of the market in beauty, Rich founded True Beauty Ventures.
Rich received a BS in Economics from Union College (N.Y.) and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Presca Ahn
Investment Director
BOLD
Presca Ahn, Investment Director, BOLD – Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development
As a global investment director at BOLD, the venture fund of L’Oréal, Presca oversees the fund’s brand & technology investments worldwide. Prior to joining BOLD, Presca was a private equity investor at Five Arrows Principal Investments following three years as an investment banker at Rothschild & Co in Paris. In her earlier career, she was an operator in the art market, notably representing artists & artist estates at an international gallery and serving as CEO of a major contemporary art museum in Beijing. Presca holds a BA from Yale College; an MSc from the London School of Economics, where she was a Fulbright Scholar; and an MBA from INSEAD.
Akshay Talati
VP Product Development – Beauty & Wellness
Goop
Akshay Talati, a pharmacist, is an expert in cosmetic research and innovation, having championed hundreds of successful products at 22 multinational and indie brands at Estee Lauder, Unilever and L'Oreal over his 30 years career.
Currently, as head of product development for Goop, a trending wellness and lifestyle brand, he leads expansion by launching a new brand for mass retail channels as well as growing beyond skincare into several other product categories in makeup, haircare, and wellness essentials.
He also serves as Vice President on the board of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, is an executive advisor, speaker, and writer for several trade shows and publications, co-founded Skindie™, and actively engages in mentoring professionals seeking guidance in the beauty industry.
Ron Robinson
Founder & CEO
BeautyStat
Ju Rhyu
Co-Founder & CEO
Hero Cosmetics
2024's legendary speakers
Mona Kattan
Founder and CEO
KAYALI
Mona Kattan is the Founder and CEO of KAYALI. She is trailblazing Arab American entrepreneur, has been named one of the most powerful women in the Middle East by Forbes and has appeared on popular TV shows like Netflix’s Dubai Bling and Shark Tank.
Driven by her love for perfume, Mona launched KAYALI in 2018. The brand, which means “my imagination” in Arabic, draws inspiration from her Middle Eastern heritage and the art of layering scents. Mona continues to lead KAYALI, working with world-renowned perfumers to create unforgettable, cruelty-free fragrances. Each luxurious scent, from its alluring notes to its beautifully crafted bottle, is a tribute to expert craftsmanship and storytelling. With nearly 5,000 perfumes in her collection, Mona has been honored as the "Most Influential Social Media Personality" by The Fragrance Foundation. Mona has built a global community of over 6 million followers across social media and she remains dedicated to fostering inclusivity and empowering the next generation of beauty enthusiasts.
Alison Kohlenstein
Vice President, Merchandising - Private Label
Ulta Beauty
Alison Kohlenstein serves as Vice President of Merchandising, Private Label Brands for Ulta Beauty. In her role, she leads a team focused on the development, execution, and growth strategy for the company’s owned brand portfolio.
Since joining the company in 2021, Alison has driven the long-term strategy for the owned brand portfolio, which includes makeup, skincare, bodycare, sun, and wellness. She led the strategic transformation of Ulta Beauty Collection—aligning it with the Conscious Beauty program through certified clean ingredients, cruelty-free formulations, and significant advancements in sustainable packaging—and continues to guide its evolution and positioning for long-term growth.
Akshay Talati
Chief Innovation Officer
Supergoop!
Kevin Wong
Vice President of Merchandising for Beauty
Target
Kirbie Johnson
Co-Host
Gloss Angeles
Kirbie Johnson is a multi-hyphenate host-writer-producer-reporter living in Los Angeles. A veteran journalist, Kirbie has become a sought-after (no BS) authority on makeup, skincare, and wellness at the intersection of entertainment. She has appeared in 500+ on-air segments, reported on the grounds of the GRAMMYs and the Golden Globe Awards, on set of shows like Euphoria, and as a trusted interviewer has secured celebrity sit-downs with Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna, and Hailey Bieber. For years as POPSUGAR’s on-camera beauty reporter, Kirbie worked to explore the connection between beauty and entertainment, and now she thrives at the intersection of both industries. She co-hosts the much-loved and listened-to Gloss Angeles podcast, covering the latest launches, social trends and a guest roster of who's-who industry A-listers. With her (manicured) finger on the pulse, she breaks news on her own platforms, including her best-selling Substack newsletter, and contributes to pubs like Allure, Harper’s BAZAAR, The Hollywood Reporter, and has appeared on the 'Today' show, Freeform, and the BBC.
Kimberly Villatoro
CEO
Patrick Ta Beauty
With a background in beauty, consumer products, and fashion, Kimberly Villatoro has led and marketed some of the most recognized brands in the world, including the billion-dollar brand Barbie. Most recently, she served as Vice President and General Manager of Smashbox and Glamglow in North America, where she led the brand's strategy and operations. She is a proven leader, bringing purpose, strategy, and scale to the businesses she has led across her two decade long professional career. With a track record of community-first brand building, today Ms. Villatoro brings her vocal advocacy and passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion to the team at Patrick Ta Beauty.
Highlights from previous years
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About Kisaco Research
Kisaco Research produces, designs and hosts B2B industry conferences, exhibitions and communities – focused on a specialized selection of topic areas.
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