FUND NEWS
Esteemed Industry Veteran Elana Drell Szyfer Joins Laura Geller Beauty as CEO and Tengram Capital Partners as Operating Advisor
New York, NY - July 11, 2014 – Laura Geller Beauty announced this week the appointment of seasoned beauty industry executive, Elana Drell Szyfer, who will join the company as CEO effective immediately. Ms. Drell Szyfer's background will fuel her new role at the 21 year-old brand, where she will continue to scale the company and lead the development of the brand. A primary charge will include driving Laura Geller Beauty's current image revamp and expansion into additional brick and mortar locations, both domestically and globally, as well as focus on new product and technology innovations, while continuing to grow the QVC business globally.
Ms. Drell Szyfer brings over two decades of experience in the beauty industry, working at major category players such as Estée Lauder, L'Oreal, and Avon. At Estée Lauder, she held the role of Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for the Estée Lauder brand, and prior to that, Vice President of Global Marketing for Prescriptives. She then spent three years at AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories, where she was Chief Executive Officer, globally. Most recently, she was EVP, Global Brand Strategy at Kenneth Cole Productions.
In addition to her new post at Laura Geller Beauty, Ms. Drell Szyfer will hold an Operating Advisor role at Tengram Capital Partners ("Tengram"), an investor in Laura Geller Beauty. In that capacity she will advise on Tengram's current beauty portfolio, assume board positions and consult on potential new investments. The Tengram beauty portfolio currently includes Nest Fragrances and Deva Curl, in addition to Laura Geller Beauty.
"We are thrilled to welcome Elana to the Laura Geller Beauty and Tengram family and look forward to the significant contributions that she will make towards all of our brands," says Richard Gersten, Partner at Tengram. "Her broad experience in the beauty industry, and her expertise in defining and leveraging brand assets to build and propel company growth will be a tremendous asset to Laura Geller Beauty and will greatly impact the awareness and continued elevation of the brand."
"I am very excited to welcome Elana on board. I am confident that her significant industry expertise and leadership will take the brand to the next level. After founding this company over twenty years ago, I am delighted to see the brand's recent evolution and am looking forward to the growth that Elana will bring," says Laura Geller, Founder, Laura Geller Beauty.
ABOUT LAURA GELLER BEAUTY:
With a delightfully different happiful approach to beauty, Laura Geller Beauty is dedicated to creating refreshingly uncomplicated products that brighten every aspect of life. Taking the guesswork out beauty by offering high-performance, multi-tasking and color-corrective products the brand is well-known for its award-winning Spackle® and Baked in Italy franchises that have changed how women apply makeup. These innovations, combined with expert advice and time-saving tips, work to make makeup fun, easy and accessible for all women. Laura Geller Beauty retails on QVC in the US, UK, Germany and Italy, at ULTA and Beauty Brands retail locations, and online at laurageller.com and a number of high-profile beauty sites. Laura Geller Beauty's web site is www.laurageller.com
ABOUT TENGRAM CAPITAL PARTNERS:
Tengram Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on leading middle-market consumer and retail companies that own strong recognizable brands. The team has a diverse background of consumer investing and operating expertise that assists and guides company management to unlock the true potential of their brand. Tengram invests in both traditional "growth" and "restructuring/turnaround" situations in either the public or private sectors. Previous and current investments for Tengram and its predecessor investment entity, Windsong Brands, LLC, include Deva Curl, Laura Geller Beauty, NEST Fragrances, Sequential Brands Group, Robert Graham, Joe Boxer, Joe's Jeans, Field & Stream, and Design Within Reach. Tengram's website is http://www.tengramcapital.com.