2024 SUMMIT: INNOVATORS & ICONS PANEL
EMPOWERED BEAUTY: LEVERAGING TECH FOR PERSONAL CARE
Join us for a discussion on the cross-section of technology and wellness, highlighting the transformative impact of at-home devices, treatments, and technologies on personal care routines, and how these advancements are reshaping consumer experiences and expectations in the beauty sector today.
ALEXA LOMBARDO
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, FACEGYM
Alexa Lombardo is the Chief Marketing Officer at FACEGYM, the destination for facial fitness combining signature muscle training techniques, tools, and skincare with non-invasive beauty services. There she oversees all of Marketing including brand, digital, content and community, product and creative.
Alexa started her career on the Transformation Initiatives team of the Corporate Strategy department at the Estée Lauder Companies working on digital and retail innovation for the entire Lauder portfolio. She went on to join the Global Marketing teams at Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and Tom Ford Beauty. During her time at Lauder she served as the Reverse Mentor to CEO Fabrizio Freda.
After Lauder, she went to Unilever's Prestige division to become the Brand Manager for Living Proof Haircare, the fastest growing prestige haircare brand in the US, where she managed global brand growth and creative. In 2019 she started Atomic Number 8, a creative studio for consumer brands focusing on emerging trends, categories and channels. Since then she and her team have developed and executed creative marketing strategies for some of the fastest growing global beauty, health and CPG brands, including Augustinus Bader and Dr. Barbara Sturm.
Alexa holds a Bachelor's of Science Cum Laude from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. She splits her time between Brooklyn and London and is always in the mood to grab a coffee and talk about brands, technology and memes.
ARJAN SINGH
CO-FOUNDER & HEAD OF BRAND MARKETING & OPERATIONS, JOLIE
Arjan Singh is a co-founder and the Head of Brand Marketing & Operations at Jolie, a beauty wellness company focused on purifying the quality of one's water for better skin, hair, and wellbeing.
His background is best defined by the phrase ‘left-brain, right-brain’ as his skillset crosses over both the creative and business aspects of brand-building and operating. As a co-founder of Jolie, Arjan’s role is unique in which it ranges from running the operations of the business to conceptualizing marketing campaigns, events, creative direction, art direction, and other creative activities.
Prior to Jolie, Arjan was at the Boston Consulting Group advising clients across fashion and beauty and has spent time at various culturally relevant brands across the lifestyle industries.
MELISSA SGAGLIONE-SEGANTI
VP OF COMMUNICATIONS & BRAND, NUFACE
With a passion for integrated marketing and innovation, Melissa Sgaglione-Seganti serves as the Vice President, Communication & Brand at NuFACE. With over a decade of experience in the beauty and wellness sectors, Melissa has cultivated a professional reputation for driving impactful communication initiatives and elevating brands to life.
At NuFACE, Melissa leads a dynamic global team overseeing social, influencer and PR teams while leading strategic brand initiatives and collaborating closely with channel, digital and retail teams. She joined NuFACE in January 2023 as Assistant Vice President of Content and Communications.
Prior to joining NuFACE, Melissa was Senior Director of Communications at Tarte Cosmetics where she oversaw all global brand events, partnerships, philanthropy, PR, creative content and social media. During her 4-year tenure at Tarte Cosmetics, Melissa also led integrated marketing and Crisis Communications.
Before assuming her role at Tarte Cosmetics, Melissa was Head of Marketing at Sweaty Betty, a global activewear and lifestyle brand for women, where she oversaw all brand, communications and social media teams. During her 3-year tenure there, she helped grow the brand to 13 stores in the U.S. and give it its U.S. footprint as a UK brand. Prior to Sweaty Betty, Melissa also held key leadership roles at DKC Public Relations, where she spent five years working on lifestyle and beauty clients including ULTA Beauty, Estee Lauder brands, Moët & Chandon, iHeartMedia and Jaguar Land Rover ultimately taking on the role of Vice President overseeing the agency’s lifestyle division.
Melissa is a member of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) and currently resides in Manhattan with her husband and three children.
WALTER FAULSTROH
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, HUM NUTRITION
Walter is HUM Nutrition's Co-Founder, CEO and top innovator. His passion for health and wellness stems from products and services that truly improve peoples' lives.
Walter has launched several health and wellness companies over the past 20 years, with HUM being his latest venture. Prior to HUM, he launched the UK’s first vitamin-enhanced water, which was acquired by PepsiCo International, and the UK’s first full-service low cost gym chain.
Walter believes in a science-based approach to wellness that delivers results, yet is accessible to consumers, easy to understand and engaging. To Walter, every touch point matters and empowering consumer education plays a critical role in his success within the industry. HUM is the first wellness brand to be rooted in science while simultaneously joyful to experience. And, HUM has been at the forefront of innovation with many firsts including: the first ingestible women's wellness brand to scale, the first brand to offer everyone free unlimited access to RD Nutritionists, the first DTC brand to conduct double blind placebo controlled studies on debloat supplements and hair gummies, the first brand to combine probiotics for vaginal health with ingredients that support Urinary Tract health, the first brand to launch an Ashwagandha gummy as well as the first brand to launch a celery juice gummy, to name a few. HUM has been raising the bar for the entire industry by advocating for transparency and clean formulations with a list of ingredients that the company considers the Tricky Twelve.
Another industry first was the company's full transition to prevented ocean plastic bottles, which to date has prevented the equivalent of over 20 Million water bottles from reaching our oceans.
AKUA OKUNSEINDE, CBS ‘11 (MODERATOR)
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, KARITÉ
Akua Okunseinde is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Offer of Karité, a skincare brand founded by herself and her two sisters, one of whom is a board-certified, celebrity dermatologist, Dr. Naana Boakye. Karité's hero ingredient, unrefined shea butter, is sourced from women farmers in Ghana, where the sisters are from. Karité products are currently sold on their website (www.mykarite.com) as well as retail stores such as The Detox Market, Anthropologie, Thirteen Lune and Amazon. Prior to Karité, Akua worked in sales and marketing roles at Google, American Express and Bank of America in New York and London. She received her BA in Economics and Political Science from Tufts University, and her MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Columbia Business School. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, planning her next vacation, and finding the best restaurants to check out with her husband and friends.