The Future of Global Talent

Global Education, bareMinerals

Ms. Freed currently holds the position of Director, Global Education, at bareMinerals, where she leads the brand’s digital education and content development strategy. She oversees and creates training tools and materials for the global sales team, as well as ensures the education voice is present at all touchpoints. Prior to joining bareMinerals, Ms. Freed worked at MAKE UP FOR EVER, LVMH, in an education role. She started her beauty career with and spent six years at Bumble and bumble under The Estée Lauder Companies umbrella, where she wrote curriculum and facilitated classes at the brand’s university and partnered with the retailer brand education teams. Ms. Freed graduated from Texas Christian University cum laude with Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Political Science and French Language Studies.

Marketing, L’Oréal USA

Ms. Gothner is a Senior Marketing Manager for Maybelline New York, where she leads the Fit Me portfolio, Maybelline’s largest face franchise, including the #1 foundation in the US. She is responsible for go-to-market strategy, including media planning and activation, online and offline execution, and future planning for the franchise. Previously, Ms. Gothner was on the corporate strategic marketing team, focusing on e-commerce acceleration and content excellence. Ms. Gothner began her career in the beauty industry when she joined L’Oréal USA on the corporate HR learning team, where she created and facilitated metiér and subject matter expertise trainings for the operational and digital marketing populations. Ms. Gothner has also been a Simplicity Champion at L’Oréal for the last four years, working with top leadership to ensure L’Oréal USA is a collaborative, inclusive, and positive place to work. Ms. Gothner holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both International Economics and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, where she played softball.

Strategy and Analytics, Estée Lauder Companies

Ms. Askew is the Global Director of Strategy and Analytics for MAC Cosmetics. During her four-year tenure at The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), she has led business insights and analytics for the North American region of Estée Lauder and AERIN, and managed global insights for the fragrance cluster. In addition to her professional role, Ms. Askew serves as business alignment chair for NOBLE, ELC’s Network of Black Leaders and Executives. She also co-founded a multilateral sponsorship and mentorship program with NOBLE, Global Talent, and the Inclusion & Diversity Center of Excellence. She is a strategic, collaborative, and analytical marketing professional who is passionate about leveraging data, analytics, and consumer insights to create diverse and consumer-centric beauty campaigns and strategies. Prior to ELC, she held positions at Universal McCann and Conde Nast. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University. She enriches her life and works through immersive travel and has plans to visit every continent.

Marketing, L’Oréal

Mr. Benedetty is a marketing manager for L’Oréal Professionnel within L’Oréal USA’s Professional Products Division. He is a brand manager for the haircare, styling, and tools categories and is responsible for the brand’s omni channels. Prior to this role, Mr. Benedetty was on the brand’s digital marketing team, leading CRM strategy development and execution, brand websites, and brand eRetailer presence. Mr. Benedetty joined L’Oréal as an intern and later participated in the company’s Management Development Program, where he completed a six-month field sales rotation in the professional hair market, supporting key accounts. This was followed by a brand marketing rotation, where he supported day-to-day marketing operations and led the brand’s customer-facing retail space renovation in distributor stores. Mr. Benedetty holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in International Business and Marketing from Florida International University, where he spent four years on the Men’s Soccer Team, becoming team captain his senior year, and a member of the Dean’s List in multiple semesters. As a student, he co-founded a home renovation company, PG Kitchen & Bath. Mr. Benedetty is fluent in English and Spanish, and conversational in Portuguese.

New Business Development, Firmenich

Ms. Casey is currently the Associate Director of New Business Development, Fine Fragrance, at Firmenich. In this role, she is responsible for identifying and bringing to market new brands for the fragrance category, including celebrity, fashion, and lifestyle brands. Ms. Casey has managed the fragrance development and growth for brands such as Kayali, Boy Smells, Costa Brazil, Brown Girl Jane, and Chris Collins. Prior to joining Firmenich, Ms. Casey was Manager, Global Fashion Relations and Partnerships at MAC Cosmetics, where she sourced and managed product collaborations from designers such as Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler, Prabal Gurung, Brandon Maxwell, and Jeremy Scott. In addition, Ms. Casey organized and helped manage global event launches and MAC's robust Fashion Week presence and participation. Ms. Casey earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in Communications with a concentration in Media Studies, and a minor in Political Science, from Fairfield University. While at Fairfield, she was a four year Division I student athlete on the women's Lacrosse team. Ms. Casey is a member of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) and helps mentor emerging beauty industry professionals for various organizations.

Digital Marketing & eCommerce, L’Oréal USA

Ms. Cronin is a Director of Digital Marketing & eCommerce within the Professional Products Division at L'Oréal, where she is responsible for leading the overall acceleration of the online business. Previously, she was the Senior Manager of US eCommerce for NARS Cosmetics at Shiseido Americas. In this position, she was responsible for developing the US brand.com roadmap relating to product launches, promotions, and site merchandising strategies as well as new site features and user experience enhancements, working closely with regional and global teams. She also oversaw new product and sales forecasting, inventory management, and reporting for the US eCommerce business. In this role, she contributed to the launch of several key .com initiatives including virtual artist consultations, a new virtual foundation shade-matching tool powered by AR technology, shoppable livestream events, and the 3D NARS virtual store. Prior to NARS, Ms. Cronin worked on the digital marketing team at Tarte Cosmetics, where she developed global site content strategy. She also worked in digital and brand marketing roles at Brooklyn-based hair care brand Eva NYC and fashion jewelry start-up BaubleBar. Ms. Cronin graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the School of Journalism and Media, and studied abroad in Florence, Italy.

Creative Fragrance Management, Givaudan

Ms. Egan is currently a Creative Fragrance Manager at Givaudan in the Fine Fragrance New York Studio, specializing in home and soap fragrances. In this role, she works closely with the perfumery, technical, and sales teams to deliver top performing scents to Bath & Body Works and several local and regional accounts. Ms. Egan completed Givaudan’s first Evaluation Training Program, where she studied alongside 17 global participants at the company’s perfumery school in France. Prior to her six years on the evaluation team, she worked in the applications lab as a technologist, assisting in providing samples to all of Givaudan’s New York clients. Ms. Egan graduated, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Chemistry and a minor in French, from Franklin and Marshall College, where she was a member of the Dean’s List, and studied abroad at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

Business Development, Clariant Corporation

Ms. Julien is currently the Senior Manager of Business Development for Clariant’s Actives & Natural Origins division in North America. In her role, she is responsible for driving new business for Clariant’s line of natural cosmetic ingredients. She develops and implements the regional business and distribution strategies, leads the business development team, and manages key accounts including Unilever, L’Oréal, and The Estée Lauder Companies. Ms. Julien has ten years of experience in cosmetic ingredient sales as a regional account manager for Clariant and as a key account manager at Solabia USA. Throughout her career, she has partnered with beauty companies cross-functionally to showcase innovations, develop custom solutions, and support commercial and technical needs. Born in France, Ms. Julien started her career as a product development manager at Groupe Rocher. She moved to Toronto in 2013 as a sales manager for Naturex, then in 2016 to New York. She holds a Master of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Clermont-Ferrand National School of Chemistry (ENSCCF). She is a certified yoga teacher and a member of CEW and NYSCC. Her native language is French.

Laboratory Lead, IFF

Ms. Komosinski currently holds a laboratory lead position at IFF in the Global Product Integrity and Compliance department. In this role, she collaborates with technical perfumers to ensure that fragrances meet global toxicology guidelines. Her daily job functions include olfactive development, fragrance evaluation, and participating in raw material studies. Ms. Komosinski graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Chemistry with a Forensics emphasis from the University of Albany, where she was president of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. In her free time, Ms. Komosinski is a competitive Irish step dancer, who competes at the regional and national level and currently holds the titles of Mid-Atlantic Regional Champion and North American Irish Dance Champion.

Global Supply Chain, Estée Lauder Companies

Ms. Piazza is currently the Global Brand Supply Chain Director for the flagship brand, Estée Lauder at The Estée Lauder Companies. In this role, she leads the execution of new global product launches for the brand’s skincare franchises. She is the key liaison between the creative and technical teams, responsible for mitigating risks, improving agility, processes, and cross-functional collaboration as well as team development. Prior to her current role, Ms. Piazza led the promotional and body category launches for Origins, supporting key high- traffic moments for the brand. In addition, she also led execution on the lip category for MAC, launching the “speed-to-market” collaboration with Brandon Maxwell for his Spring 2019 runway show, and the Powder Kiss lipstick franchise, which became a key hero product for the brand. Before joining The Estée Lauder Companies in 2016, she participated in the L’Oréal USA Management Development Program, focusing on manufacturing. Ms. Piazza graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics from Manhattan College, where she studied abroad in London and Florence. An EU dual citizen, Ms. Piazza is conversational in Italian, and mentors undergraduate engineering students at her alma mater.

Senior Scientist, IFF

Ms. Wagner currently holds the position of Senior Scientist at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and is the lead analyst for the Fine Fragrance, North American Scent Division. In her role, Ms. Wagner’s focus is on generating formulation insights for both the technical and creative teams. She is also an active contributor to IFF's perfumery training for technical team members and serves as a mentor within her global organization. Ms. Wagner’s career at IFF began the summer following her graduation from Pace University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, with an additional certification from the American Chemical Society. During her studies, Ms. Wagner was part of Pforzheimer Honors College, president of the Chemistry Club, and a member of Tri-Beta, a national biological honor society. Ms. Wagner is fluent in Russian and English.