Grace Ray

Grace Ray has been named chief executive officer of Milani Cosmetics, effective July 31.

She succeeds Michelle Taylor, who will become the company chairman. Taylor replaces Dennis O’Brien,  ap artner at Gryphon Investors, who served as interim chairman after Gryphon acquired a majority stake in Milani last month.

Ray most recently served as CEO of hair care company Living Proof, where she oversaw and executed dramatic growth in brand awareness, sales, and profitability. She played an integral role in Living Proof’s sale to Unilever, in 2016. Ray has also held senior leadership positions at Smashbox Cosmetics and L’Oréal.

“We are delighted to have Grace join Milani Cosmetics as CEO. She brings extraordinary experience to the team and has a successful track record of stewarding private companies towards achieving their growth potential and transforming them into highly desirable brands,” said Taylor. “Her background with both cosmetics and beauty businesses gives her an important knowledge base of the levers required for growth in a modern makeup brand.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to guide this fast-growing indie brand and build upon its already proven successes and reputation for creating high quality makeup for discerning multi-cultural consumers,” said Ray. “Milani is smartly positioned in the fast-growing ‘masstige’ category where we can offer high quality and good value without having to compromise on either. This is exactly what consumers want today. It is important that we continue to introduce new innovations, enforce our strong retailer relationships, invest in consumer pull, and grow our international markets.”

 Former Milani owners and current stakeholders, Ralph Bijou and Laurie Minc, who took part in the selection process alongside Gryphon Investors, said they are are excited to have an accomplished industry expert, such as Ray, lead the brand to new heights of success.