Beauty’s Danessa Myricks, Nicola Kilner on Their Key Lessons of 2024

One year wiser.

For the trailblazing founders and executives who moved the beauty industry forward in 2024, never has an adage been more true. There’s K18 cofounder Suveen Sahib, who in his first year helming the hair repair brand post-Unilever acquisition launched a second patented molecule and added 11-time Olympic medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles to its camp as an ambassador.

Or Tennille Kopiasz, who closed out her first full year as chief executive officer of Fekkai and Bastide parent company, Blue Mistral. Ditto Christiane Pendarvis, co-CEO of Pattern Beauty alongside the textured hair care brand’s founder, Tracee Ellis Ross. And then there’s Danessa Myricks, whose artistry-driven eponymous cosmetics brand has simply been red hot, hot, hot.

Here, eight of beauty’s brightest leaders on their key lessons learned in 2024, and how they’re approaching 2025.

1. Danessa Myricks

Founder, Danessa Myricks Beauty

“When people and purpose are at the center of all you do, you always win. Danessa Myricks Beauty has always been about community, and the strides we have made are due to the amazing and creative individuals who believe in us — our product and content inspiration come from them, and centering that community in our journey has been the key that unlocks each door. In 2025, we’ll continue to connect the hearts and minds of beauty lovers around the world through education, unique product innovations, and reimagining what is possible in the beauty industry.”

2. Nicola Kilner

Cofounder, Deciem

“The consumer is the boss of everyone. In 2024, our fastest-growing product was our glycolic acid toner, despite being in our lineup for more than seven years. Now, it’s our top-selling product, and this outpouring of community love allowed us to further invest in R&D to validate claims that our consumers were discovering and sharing with us online. We also updated the formula for our Hyaluronic Acid Serum, which some consumers loved, while others wanted the original back. We listened to both — and now have both available. In 2025, we’ll continue to take our communities thoughts and opinions into account and build our products and campaigns, based on real, usage-driven feedback.

3. Suveen Sahib

CEO and cofounder, K18

“One of the biggest realizations I’ve had in 2024 is the power of focus. As beauty entrepreneurs, we often feel the urge to tackle everything at once — launch new products, expand into new markets and reinvent the wheel. But what truly creates impact is a relentless drive to deliver real value: that is when we don’t just create great brands — we set new benchmarks for what beauty can achieve. For us, therefore, it’s about evolving with discipline and purpose while staying true to our DNA, and focusing on the few actions that matter: authenticity, our community’s needs and elevating education while allowing ourselves space to learn, adapt and stay agile.”

4. Christiane Pendarvis

Co-CEO, Pattern Beauty

“The launch of the Pattern Hair Steamer this year reinforced an earlier insight: If you put the consumer at the center of everything you do, and develop products that are differentiated and deliver tangible benefits, consumers will be your biggest evangelists. The steamer checked all the boxes on performance, and the consumer response was incredible — they not only purchased it, but they also spread the word to the broader community. This reminder will serve as the north star for us in 2025 as we work on new products and programs — we’ll continue to set the bar high and ensure that everything we do puts the consumer first.”

5. Elana Drell-Szyfer

CEO, RéVive Skincare

“As a CEO, your focus is on planning, anticipating and trying to mitigate risk by controlling situations. I’ve spent years practicing and honing these skills. This year, I was forced to face a difficult and important lesson — that despite the best planning and risk management, not everything can be controlled. I spent a good deal of time separating my self-worth and definition of personal success from my instinct to view success as the product of a highly planned, desired outcome. I was forced to become comfortable with unwelcome and unexpected circumstances, and that was highly challenging. But it has helped me grow as a leader, and by letting go of what I think an outcome should be, I’ve gained a greater sense of perspective, confidence and inner calm.”

6. Chris Collins

CEO and founder, World of Chris Collins

“Being a brand owner teaches you something new every day. It’s unpredictable — one day, things seem to make sense and the next, they don’t, so my biggest learning of 2024 is never to get too high, and never too low, on any given day. It all averages out as a win anyways, because your business has survived to see another day. I will keep this mantra with me into the new year.”

7. Tennille Kopiasz

CEO at Blue Mistral (Fekkai and Bastide)

“Staying true to your brand equity is paramount in brand-building and creating emotional connections.  Deeply understanding your customer is essential for staying relevant and making informed decisions. Changing too fast to chase trends — while in the short term could drive wins — over time, dilutes brand equity. Moving into 2025, retaining our core customers will be a top priority, ensuring we build deeper, more meaningful connections while remaining authentic to our brand’s soul.”

8. Lori Singer

President, Parlux Ltd.

“Consumer-centricity is a must in order to survive and thrive in this unpredictable world and industry. It’s essential to do the homework: to understand as much as possible about what the customer wants, how they think and where the market gaps are. This has become a cornerstone of the way we approach partnerships — from our award-winning brands with Billie Eilish and Drake, to our new venture with influencer/entrepreneur Danielle Bernstein. Danielle understands her customers, knows what they want and knows how to market to them. Next year, we’re focusing more on diversifying our brand portfolio and expanding into new categories to meet customers’ needs and drive growth.”