A multi-disciplinary jury for Cosmoprof and Cosmopack Awards

Ankita Rakheja is a beauty strategist and Category Manager at Lifestyle, Landmark Group, where she leads Private Label Bath & Body and Skincare strategy across GCC markets. With a background in Cosmetic Technology, she works at the intersection of product development, packaging innovation, and commercial category strategy.
Over more than a decade across the GCC and Indian beauty industries, she has led the end-to-end development of private label brands including StudioWest (TATA Enterprise), Beautysta, Gloo, and Scent.d London (Landmark Group) guiding projects from concept and formulation through to large-scale retail execution. Conceptualized and successfully launched over 500 products across color cosmetics, skincare, bath & body, fragrance, and accessories. Her work focuses on translating innovation into sustainable commercial growth, aligning technical development, consumer relevance, and scalable retail performance within global beauty markets.

Ukachi is a dynamic Global Packaging & Engineering Strategic leader with over 25 years of experience leading
technically driven innovation, complex product development, and enterprise portfolio transformation within
Fortune 500 global beauty organizations. Recognized for bridging deep technical expertise with enterprise
strategy—translating business ambition into scalable, technically robust solutions that accelerate speed-to-market,
strengthen innovation pipelines, and drive sustainable, profitable growth.
As Global Vice President, Innovation Strategy & Portfolio Management – Packaging & Engineering at The Estée
Lauder Companies, she leads strategic planning, portfolio governance, and end-to-end technical readiness and
transformation for a nearly $15B global portfolio. Partnering across R&D, engineering, supply chain, operations,
and commercial leadership, she works to ensure technical feasibility, operational excellence, disciplined
investment decisions, and long-term platform scalability—while building high-performing global teams that
deliver measurable impact through innovation excellence.

Background: 17 years of experience in the beauty industry. International Product Marketing Manager at Clarins and New Projects Manager at Cosmoprof

Beatrice Balzarotti is an expert in Sensory Anthropology, with a background in Communication and New Media and a specialization in Anthropology and Ethnology. Her academic research explored urban spaces through the senses of taste and smell. She has held multiple roles within the perfume world , from laboratory assistant supporting the perfumer in the creative process, to evaluator, and later consultant in communication and marketing. Currently, she works on research and content development across various cultural and educational contexts and teaches in university and academy programs in Italy. Her work focuses on multisensory languages as tools to inspire, connect, and generate new forms of value.

Nicola Barbini is an Italian expert in cosmetics, sustainable chemistry, and wellness, with a solid background in chemistry and cosmetic sciences. For nine years, he served as President of Italy’s first consortium for cosmetic research, promoting innovation across the industry. At the European level, he was part of the Board of SusChem, the European Commission’s platform for sustainable chemistry. 
He currently leads Job On Beauty, an organization focused on professional training and scientific education in cosmetics and nutraceuticals, through courses, webinars, and sector initiatives. 
As an author and speaker, Barbini regularly contributes to Informatore Cosmetico Qualificato (ICQ) and presents at major key sector events, discussing new trends, regulations, and market dynamics. 
Leveraging his extensive experience, he acts as a technical consultant for cosmetic companies, developing innovative ingredients for skin care, make-up, and hair care in collaboration with leading Italian universities. He also serves as R&D Director for the Aldo Coppola Group, where he oversees research and product development in the hair care sector

Monia Benvegnù is a professional with over 24 years of experience in the cosmetics sector, gained through roles of increasing responsibility in R&D, technical marketing, sales, and business development at global companies such as BASF-Beauty Care Solutions and Cognis-Laboratoires Serobiologiques. She holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies from the University of Padua and is a licensed pharmacist.
Her specialization in functional active ingredients for personal care has enabled her to drive innovation and deliver tailored solutions that anticipate market trends and address customer needs. Her expertise spans scientific knowledge transfer, technical training, markets and clients business development and the design of creative concepts that combine texture and actives.
She has also lectured at universities and published articles, consolidating her role as a reference point in the cosmetic industry.

Editor in Chief with editorial oversight across all of BEAUTYSTREAMS’ branches including reporting, forecast, webinars, and bespoke. As a foreign correspondent in Paris contributing to: Die Zeit, The Wall Street Journal, FT/How To Spend It, Parnass Art Magazine, and WWD

I have a deep passion for building brands that connect, inspire, and elevate everyday moments. As a Senior Buyer Lead in  Beauty, I thrive at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and storytelling—curating assortments that reflect both global trends and the unique needs of the South African market.

Beauty, for me ,  is more than products on a shelf—it is a powerful, ever-evolving expression of identity, confidence, and self-care that touches people’s lives every single day. From a morning skincare ritual to a signature fragrance, I see beauty as something deeply personal yet universally impactful.

Driven by the energy of a fast-moving, innovative industry, Beauty is in my DNA. I am passionate about partnering with visionary creators and brands who are redefining what beauty means. I am   inspired by the constant evolution of the space—where technology, inclusivity, and creativity come together to shape the future.

Being part of this journey is what fuels me: building, scaling, and bringing to life brands that don’t just sell—but resonate, empower, and leave a lasting impression
 

With over 35 years of international experience, Mario De Luigi is a leading expert in cosmetics innovation, color trend forecasting, and product development. Founder and former Creative Director of B.kolormakeup & Skincare, he has collaborated with major global brands on new formulations, brand concepts, and creative marketing strategies. Known for his ability to translate fashion trends into beauty products, he combines deep technical knowledge with strategic insight across make-up, skincare, and global beauty manufacturing. His expertise spans trend forecasting, product innovation, development & manufacturing, brand strategy, and creative direction, making him a respected voice in the international beauty community and a frequent contributor to major media and industry events.

As a fragrance expert with experience in niche perfumery, I have completed specialist studies and courses to become a certified Fragrance Evaluator. As an independent consultant for private labels, I create small olfactory events that explore the link between taste and smell. I teach Olfactory Culture and Language at the Italian Perfumery Institute. I collaborated on the book "Olfatti, non parole", Maurizio Cavezzali.

With over 25 years’ experience in product development for global cosmetics brands, Kristal Goodman has cultivated a unique blend of scientific expertise, creative vision, and strategic thinking to shape some of the beauty industry’s most iconic products. In her role as Head of Product Innovation at full-service manufacturer THG LABS, Kristal’s influence is best demonstrated by dedication to Innovation with Purpose. A champion for the integration of advanced biotechnology and sustainable formulation, together with an insightful grip on emergent global trends, ensures NPD for brands remain at the cutting-edge of beauty innovation while meeting the multifaceted needs of today's consumers.

Thomas Hammond is the Sr. Director of Package Development and Engineering at Revlon overseeing global Skincare, Body Care, Promotions, Package Testing, and Change Management. In this role, he is responsible for end to end execution from ideation to manufacturing and production. In his eleven years at Elizabeth Arden and Revlon, he’s worked on their most prestigious skincare and color cosmetic brands while supporting value engineering initiatives, in-sourcing, innovation, and sustainability. Prior to Elizabeth Arden, he worked for PepsiCo aiding in the engineering and development of new soda fountain technology. In the summer of 2012, Thomas spent three months in South Korea for an internship with an injection molding cosmetic factory. He’s traveled domestically and internationally for functional packaging line trials, custom tool development, and innovation trade shows. With those experiences, he’s been able to sharpen his skill set, cultivating himself for a future in the cosmetic industry. In his spare time, he enjoys boating in the summer, skiing in the winter, and football. Thomas holds a Masters in Cosmetic and Fragrance Marketing and Management from FIT and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.

Emmanuel joined Quantis in 2021 to lead the development of the Cosmetics, Personal Care and Pharma globally. He is advising clients across continents on how to integrate sustainability into their business strategy. He is also Quantis Lead on the EcoBeautyScore. Prior to Quantis, Emmanuel spent more than 15 years in strategy consulting with Kearney and KPMG Advisory in the UK, Switzerland and France. He holds an MBA from Insead.

Background: 10 years experience covering fashion, beauty, and business news for WWD and W magazine. She writes for trend forecasting companies: BEAUTYSTREAMS, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, and Light Years, alongside creating copy for a number of luxury beauty brands
 

I am a Beauty Buyer and Product Manager at Printemps in Paris, where I focus on curating strong brand assortments and developing impactful beauty launches. I work closely with our beauty partners on negotiations, product selection, and in‑store execution. With a strong understanding of market trends and a collaborative mindset, I’m committed to bringing innovative and relevant beauty experiences to the Printemps customer.

Nigel Lawmon has over 25 years of retail experience including 20+ years in the Beauty industry and has held leadership roles at Debenhams, Alpha Retail/World Duty Free, The Fragrance Shop and Feelunique. He has worked at Sephora for over 4 years, firstly as Chief Commercial Officer for the UK business and then in September 2023 he took up his current position in the Global Merchandising team leading the Haircare category for the business. 

Lorne Lucree is a leading expert in beauty innovation, product development, and R&D, with deep expertise in formulation science, ingredient technologies, packaging, sustainability, olfactive trends, and consumer insights. His career spans advertising at Procter & Gamble, global and regional marketing at L'Oréal, R&I and product development at Estée Lauder, brand incubation at Luxury Brand Partners, and manufacturing and operational innovation as Chief Innovation & R&D Officer at Voyant Beauty. He has developed award-winning products for Clinique, R+Co, L’Oréal Professionnel, IGK, ONE/SIZE by PatrickStarrr, and Tatcha. Now, as Founder of Quiet Coyote Consulting, he helps brands, private equity, and contract manufacturers drive innovation and maximize value.

Lorne is a trusted partner to key retailers like Ulta Beauty, where he serves as a Product Development Advisor for the Ulta MUSE Accelerator Program and a member of the Conscious Beauty at Ulta Advisory Board. 

His work has earned 25+ industry awards, including Allure Best of Beauty, Allure Best of Beauty Breakthrough, Refinery29 Beauty Innovator, and Times UK Style Beauty Award. He has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BSc from Boston University.

Andrea Nagel is a highly regarded Content Executive at CEW, the beauty industry’s leading membership organization dedicated to educating, acknowledging, and advancing female executives in the beauty industry. Andrea brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic content curation, member engagement, and program development.

Nicole Musco is the Director of Global Product Development at jane iredale, the skincare makeup brand, where she has contributed since January 2023.

Nicole's passion for product development began over 15 years ago as an intern at L'Oréal, a pivotal experience that sparked her career in the beauty industry. Over the years, she has developed beauty products for leading brands such as L'Oréal Paris, Avon, Skyn Iceland, and spearheaded Development at Revlon for the Almay and Revlon brands.

With a deep passion for beauty and innovation, Nicole is especially drawn to the art of creating products that both delight consumers and stay ahead of industry trends.

Celebrated beauty industry authority.
Directed client marketing and product development consulting projects worldwide for L’Oréal brands, AmorePacific, Beiersdorf, Coty, Estée Lauder, P&G, Unilever,  etc

With a rich experience spanning over two decades in the field of Cosmetics, she acquired technical-formulation expertise working closely at leading makeup subcontractors before transitioning to commercial position at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global chemical company. In her role, she successfully managed strategic sales of cosmetic raw materials. Currently, she serves as the Global Strategic Marketing lead for the Cosmetic segment at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where she keeps a vigilant eye on market trends and consumer behaviors. Her primary focus is to adapt the company's marketing strategies and drive new product development initiatives.

Background: Specialist in trends and marketing, Accomplished marketing and beauty expert, based in Brazil. Possesses a diverse skill set for overseeing and driving global projects, and forging partnerships with brands and trade shows such Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna.

Mr. Sahota is an international expert on sustainable product industries. He has been doing research, analysis & consulting on natural cosmetics, organic foods, fair trade products, health & wellness products for almost 30 years. 

Mr. Sahota is the founder and CEO of Ecovia Intelligence, which has been encouraging sustainable development in specialist industries since its formation in 2001. For over two decades, is company has assisted a wide range of clients that range from multinationals, government organizations, to dedicated ethical product companies. The client list of Ecovia Intelligence includes Unilever, Aveda, L’Oreal, Weleda, Arla Foods, Organic Trade Association, CBI (Dutch government), APEX Brasil, Organic Denmark, and the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Research and analysis of Mr. Sahota has been quoted extensively in the media, including The Financial Times, The Independent, Forbes, Fortune, BBC World Service, The Economist, Food Chemical News, The Straits Times, South China Morning Post, CNBC News, Nordic Business Report and Asian Business. 

He regularly shares his analysis and insights at international events; recent ones include Sustainable Foods Summit (Amsterdam, June 25), Sustainable Cosmetics Summit (New York, June 25), In-Cosmetics Global (Amsterdam, April 25), BioFach (Nuremberg, Feb 25), Sustainable Foods Summit (San Francisco, Jan 25), Cosmoprof Asia (Hong Kong, Nov 24), Sustainable Beauty Awards (Paris, Oct 24), In-Cosmetics Latin America (Sao Paulo, Sep 24), and Singapore Supplier’s Day (Singapore, Aug 2024), 

Mr. Sahota has degrees in Applied Chemistry and Management Science, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. Mr. Sahota has co-authored a number of books on sustainability and organic products. He is a regular contributor to the World of Organic Agriculture (published annually by FiBL and IFOAM). His last publication is called Sustainability: Greening of the Cosmetics Industry (Wiley & Sons). 

I am a Brand Strategy professional with expertise across the beauty, fashion, and retail sectors in Asian markets, with extensive experience in defining brand direction, structuring portfolio architecture, and driving long-term strategic growth.

I apply a rigorous strategic evaluation framework in brand selection, assessing market positioning, scalability, consumer relevance, and retail channel fit. By integrating brand-building principles with strong commercial insight, I focus on identifying brands capable of delivering sustainable competitive advantage in rapidly evolving markets.

Pranay Sethi is the Product Director – Beauty Division at Al Fahim HQ, Dubai, leading the group’s beauty ecosystem across retail, distribution, and specialty fragrance concepts in the GCC region.

He oversees the strategic development of X Beauty, a fast-growing omnichannel beauty retailer focused on Asian beauty innovation and experiential retail, together with Siera, the group’s distribution arm introducing international brands into the Middle East market, and Black Bund, an upcoming curated niche perfumery concept dedicated to fine fragrance craftsmanship.

With over 18 years of experience in beauty retail and category leadership across the Middle East & India, Pranay has managed and commercially operated major international beauty brands and portfolios across regional franchise and retail partners, including Walmart, Landmark Group, Boots, The Body Shop, Neal’s Yard Remedies and others. His expertise spans brand launches, category strategy, pricing architecture, supplier negotiations, and omnichannel merchandising across skincare, makeup, haircare, bath & body, fragrance, and wellness categories.

He specializes in identifying emerging trends and translating global innovation into commercially scalable concepts for the GCC market, supporting the introduction and growth of premium, niche, and trend-driven brands in the region.

Nidhi Sharma is a beauty authority and editorial director with 18+ years of experience spanning editorial content, brand strategy, and market expansion across GCC and India. She served as Beauty Director at Vogue India for a decade, where she spearheaded and executed 10 prestigious editions of the Vogue Beauty Awards, worked alongside the best international beauty talent, created world-class editorial content, and collaborated with global beauty icons and celebrities, building the publication's beauty vertical into a leading authority on trends and innovation.
Sharma launched the GCC's first editorial beauty retail platform, creating an immersive "buy everything you see, shop everything you watch" ecosystem. She is also co-founder of Peanut Butter, India's leading premium production agency and studio.
Currently, she leads beauty partnerships, digital initiatives, creative and content at Apparel Group UAE. She sits on advisory boards for beauty brands across GCC and India, specializing in content strategy, product curation, and bridging international innovation with emerging market consumer specialising.
Her expertise spans editorial content creation, brand positioning, trend forecasting, Asian beauty integration, and translating global beauty innovation into commercially scalable concepts for these markets.

Alena is a global spa and wellness executive with over 20 years of experience in luxury hospitality. She began her career with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, holding leadership roles across multiple U.S. and Caribbean properties. In 2010, she served as Executive Spa Director for the opening of the 20,000-square-foot ESPA at The Istanbul EDITION Hotel.

Alena later joined the Viceroy Hotel Group as Regional Executive Director of Spa and Wellness before leading the opening of the first spa for 1 Hotels at 1 Hotel South Beach. She currently serves as Corporate Spa Director for Starwood Hotels, overseeing global spa wellness strategy, development, branding, and operations across 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, Treehouse Hotels, and SH Collection.

CEO of Martha Tilaar Group, one of the largest natural beauty companies in Indonesia. Established in 1970, Martha Tilaar Group has managed a portfolio of 10 prominent beauty brands in the market, along with 68 spas and more than 20,000 retail points nationwide. Studied at Suffolk University and Harvard University in the United States, Dr. Tilaar wanted to highlight the richness of Indonesia’s biodiversity and marine resources. He focuses the Group’s research activities on natural, organic, and halal products to bring the nation’s local heritage to the global market.

I am a Beauty Buyer with two decades of experience spanning across makeup, skincare, and haircare. Known for a strong commercial instinct, I specialize in identifying trends that balance innovation, sustainability, and consumer relevance. I’m inspired by the reimagining of heritage ideas and the power of innovative packaging and components to transform products into compelling stories

Industry visionary. Renowned forecaster.  
Background: 30+ years of experience advising fashion and beauty brands globally. Creative Director at Stylesight, Here & There Agency New York

As Content Strategist at The Business of Fashion, Shenel Wickramaratne expertly analyses and distills critical industry trends, crafting insightful weekly emails and strategy presentations for global brands like Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Nike.

With a keen eye for emerging opportunities, she drives impactful content partnerships across fashion, retail, technology, and beauty. She brings a wealth of experience interviewing C-suite executives, delving into high-stakes topics such as retail innovation, supply chain transformation, and diversity and inclusion.