President, e.l.f. Brands | Bold Change Agent | Fearless and Heartful
San Francisco Bay Area
40K followers
500+ connections
About
Accomplished growth architect, culture builder and modern brand leader. Fearless visionary. Bold disruptor with a kind heart.
As President of e.l.f. Brands, I lead expansion across categories and geographies while helping shape a different kind of company. After serving as CMO for 7 years, I continue to partner with our C-Suite to drive brand relevance, cultural currency and global momentum across the e.l.f. Beauty portfolio.
Since 2019, I’ve partnered with an extraordinary leadership team to radically transform e.l.f. from a U.S.-focused color cosmetics challenger into a multi-brand global beauty powerhouse including e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, e.l.f. HAIR, Well People, Naturium and rhode.
Together, we:
-Sustained 29 consecutive quarters of net sales growth, placing us in a rare group of high-growth public consumer companies
-Expanded net sales 5X to $1.3B and market cap 20X to $7B+ while scaling international business 4X to 21% of total sales
-Elevated e.l.f. Cosmetics to the #1 U.S. color cosmetics brand in units and #2 in dollars, while building five product franchises exceeding $200M+ in retail sales
-Built a modern marketing and growth engine that increased unaided brand awareness to 45% (+32 points since 2020) and drove a 74% rise in purchasers in just three years
-Maintained status as the #1 Gen Z favorite beauty brand for eight consecutive seasons while also becoming the #1 most-purchased brand among Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha
-Delivered marketing ROI multiples above benchmarks while sustaining double-digit growth as investments scaled
-Helped set the bar for corporate leadership with a Board of Directors that is 60% women and 40% diverse — among the most inclusive of U.S. public companies
Known for surrounding myself with a “parade of unicorns," I am passionate about building an orbit of exceptional leaders and creating the conditions necessary for people and innovation to thrive.
Before e.l.f., I had the privilege of working within the beauty divisions of iconic brands including Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès, Burberry and bareMinerals — each adding to my constellation of inspiration, creativity and innovation.
Since 2025 I've become:
A member of the Dutch Bros Inc. Board of Directors, dedicated to “making a massive difference, one cup at a time.”
A member of the Virtuosi League Advisory board, committed to translating disruption into capabilities that accelerate team and enterprise performance.
The Co-host of “Uncensored Renegades,” a podcast providing leadership and brand-building mentorship at scale.
Articles by Kory
Activity
40K followers
Experience
Education
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Fashion Institute of Technology
Masters in Professional Studies Marketing & Management
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Graduated with Honors: Summa cum Laude
Scholarship recognition award for outstanding academic achievement (4.0 GPA). -
Pace University - Lubin School of Business
Bachelor of Business Administration Marketing
Graduated with Honors: Magna cum Laude
Awarded Dean’s Scholarship for outstanding academic achievement.
One of ten Pace University students chosen to receive prestigious award for outstanding academic achievement from the Advertising Club of New York.
Volunteer Experience
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FIT Executive Mentor
Fashion Institute of Technology
- Present 15 years
Education
Mentors students through a 2-year program to give emerging executives additional opportunity and hands-on guidance to develop abilities and skills necessary for success in senior management roles.
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Executive Mentor
Adweek
- Present 5 years
Mentees who earn their spot with one of the world’s top 100 marketing leaders are given the opportunity to share their unique challenges and leverage input from their mentor in their next career move. The program is purposefully designed to be short and targeted for the mentee’s specific career challenges to deliver maximum and immediate results.
Skills
Honors & Awards
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WWD x FN x Beauty Inc Women in Power 2026
WWD, Footwear News and Beauty Inc.
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AdAge Vanguard Award
AdAge
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Campaign US CMO 50
Campaign
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The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future 2026
NRF Foundation
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The Drum Rebel 50
The Drum
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AMA Marketing Hall of Fame - Purpose Driven Marketing
AMA
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Adweek Marketing Vanguard Awards
Adweek
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Ad Age Leading Women
Ad Age
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Adweek Creative 100
Adweek
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Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing
Brand Innovators
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Business Insider's Most Innovative CMOs
Business Insider
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Campaign US CMO 50
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Chief New Era of Leadership
Chief
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Fast Company CMOs of the Year
Fast Company
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Glossy Beauty Marketer of the Year
Glossy
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Influential & TikTok CMO Awards
Influential
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Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand
Brand Innovators
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CEW Achiever Awards
CEW
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Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50
Forbes
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Vogue Business 100 Innovators
Vogue Business
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WWD 25 Most Inspiring Women
WWD
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Brand Innovators Top 100 Women CMOs
Brand Innovators
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Glossy Top Marketers
Glossy
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The CMO Club Technology Leadership Award
The CMO Club
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Adweek Creative Visionary Awards
Adweek
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Brand Innovators Top 100 Women CMO
Brand Innovators
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Business Insider 27 most innovative CMOs
Business Insider
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Campaign US CMO Top 50
Campaign US
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Consumer Goods Technology CMO of the Year
Consumer Goods Technology
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Adweek Brand Genius
Adweek
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Business Insider CMOs to Watch
Business Insider
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Chief Marketer Marketers on Fire - CMO Awards
Chief Marketer
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Glossy 50
Glossy
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Women in Retail Leading Female Executives
Women in Retail
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