Chaz Giles
CEO, alidalabs

Chaz brings over 20 years of technology and AI innovation leadership across global brands and start-ups. As the CEO of Alida Labs, Chaz helps companies apply AI to create real growth. An early leader in AI, Chaz founded Revea, the first precision skincare company, using AI and NASA imaging technology to democratize dermatology. Previously, he built and led External Innovation for The Estée Lauder Companies. Prior to that, Chaz invested in and incubated early-stage companies as a Venture Director at Citi Ventures. Chaz started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he helped create one of P&G’s billion dollar brands, before incubating new businesses in FutureWorks, P&G's corporate innovation group. Chaz is published in the William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review and is an active start-up investor and advisor focused on the intersection of AI, science, and longevity.

Melisse Shaban
CEO, Aramore Skincare

Melisse is the CEO of Aramore, a longevity science company advancing cellular health through next-generation skincare and supplements. At Aramore, she leads the strategy, innovation, and growth of a science-driven brand focused on healthy aging by targeting core biological pathways, including NAD+. A seasoned entrepreneur and operator, Melisse previously founded Virtue Labs, scaling breakthrough wound-healing technology into a $50 million premium haircare brand recognized with more than 60 industry awards and named one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2022. Earlier in her career, she led the acquisitions and growth of Frederic Fekkai and Pout Cosmetics and played key roles in the expansion of NIA24 and StriVectin, along with executive positions at Aveda and The Body Shop. Melisse was named to Forbes’ inaugural 50 Over 50 list in 2021.

Crystal Wood
Founder, Beauty-AI

Crystal Wood is the founder of Beauty-AI, a boutique consulting agency focused on the growth and development of niche, luxury beauty brands, both privately held and investor funded. She previously served as the COO/CMO for The PCA Companies and CEO/COO for Blue Mistral, as well as held various senior leadership roles at GHD, Coty Professional, Tarte, Bobbi Brown, and Lancôme.

Emma Powell
Co-Founder + CEO, groa°

Emma is the author of Retention-First Growth®: The Future of Profitability in Ecommerce and architect of the Retention-First Growth Flywheel, a five-orbit system for compounding customer value across capture, activation, value core, loyalty, and reactivation. Over the last decade, Emma has worked with 100-plus beauty, wellness, apparel, and lifestyle brands to reverse replacement economics and move into Klaviyo’s top decile for revenue-per-recipient, repeat purchase, and list health. She is also co-founder and CEO of groa°, a headless, agentic AI operating system that sits above a brand’s existing connected stack, turning zero-party and behavioral data into live retention intelligence and autonomous decisions across the lifecycle. Teams interact through a dashboard that surfaces Flywheel Health Index, orbit progression, and Customer Energy Profiles in real time, closing the execution gap between strategy and day-to-day trading. Developed over two years with applied AI experts from Oxford and Cambridge, groa° is now in private beta.

Heidi Henneman
Co-Founder + CMO, groa°

Heidi Henneman is co-founder and CMO of groa°, an agentic AI operating system built for e-commerce retention and profitable growth. With more than 25 years in premium beauty and consumer brands, she has helped scale high-growth companies including Drunk Elephant, MAC Cosmetics, and Jo Malone London across marketing, creative operations, brand strategy, and customer lifecycle execution. At groa°, Heidi works across consultancy, ecosystem strategy, and live implementation, helping brands move beyond fragmented marketing tactics toward retention systems designed to compound customer value over time. Her work focuses on the intersection of lifecycle architecture, customer intelligence, and operational scalability, with a particular emphasis on beauty, wellness, and founder-led brands. Alongside her work in commerce and technology, Heidi is also the founder of Orenda Giving, a nonprofit organization focused on long-term community impact initiatives. She is passionate about helping brands build businesses that are not only commercially successful but structurally resilient and purpose driven.

Dr. Akemi Ooka
Interim CEO, Independent Beauty Association

With over 25 years of consumer packaged goods experience, from Fortune 500 companies to small start-ups, Akemi’s experience ranges from product development to sourcing and supply chain transformation. Akemi led chemical procurement at Clorox, formulation and fragrance development at method, and product development and commercialization at J.R. Watkins. Her experience includes overseeing formulation and product design, quality, regulatory compliance, claim support, procurement, innovation sourcing, and contract manufacturing across personal care, home care, and FDA- and EPA-regulated categories. At the Independent Beauty Association (IBA), Akemi developed IBA’s supply chain and sustainability resource programming before taking on the Interim CEO role in 2025. Akemi holds a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Rutgers University and a PhD in chemistry from UCLA.

Meredith Petillo
VP, Technical & Regulatory Affairs, Independent Beauty Association

Meredith is the VP of Technical & Regulatory Services at the Independent Beauty Association (IBA). She leverages 20 years of experience in cosmetic regulatory affairs, legal advertising, product testing, and product development to support IBA member companies with practical regulatory and technical education solutions. Prior to joining IBA, Meredith established an in-house regulatory department at Bare Escentuals for bareMinerals, BUXOM, and MD Formulations. She moved to Energizer Holdings (now Edgewell Personal Care) to support Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, and Schick North American Regulatory Affairs. Meredith joined Reckitt Benckiser’s (RB), (now Reckitt) legal team overseeing advertising claims substantiation for RB’s Health and Hygiene portfolios including Mucinex, Delsym, Air Wick, Lysol, Veet, Clearasil, and Durex. She also provided regulatory consulting services at Product Integrity Laboratory. Meredith holds a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Richmond and a master of science degree in regulatory affairs for drugs, biologics, and medical devices from Northeastern University.

Scott Oshry
President, Modernity

Scott is a seasoned entrepreneur, brand builder, and design‑driven executive with 25-plus years of experience shaping high-growth consumer companies. He began his career in industrial and transportation design before co‑founding Roundhouse, which ranked #25 on the Inc. 500 and #3 on the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City 100, contributing to his recognition as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award of Los Angeles. Scott later co‑founded Zorbit Resources, which achieved Inc. 5000 recognition, before merging into Maesa, where he became one of the founding executives of the combined Maesa Group. At Maesa, he served as CMO, Partner, and Board Observer, playing a central role in building and scaling brands including Flower Beauty by Drew, Kristin Ess Hair, Hairitage, Frenshe, and Finery. Today, Scott is President of Modernity, where he merges entrepreneurial instinct with design‑forward thinking to develop brands with distinctive points of view.

Grace Yang
VP, Creators + Social Commerce, Pattern

Kaumana Rindlisbacher
Director, Sales, Pattern

Elizabeth Corrigan
Founder + CEO, The Complete Package

Elizabeth is a results-driven founder, operator, and trusted advisor to CEOs, investors, and private equity partners across the global beauty and wellness industry. She began her career at influential organizations, including L'Oréal USA, LVMH, and Bliss, earning a reputation as the operator who could understand both consumer truth and commercial reality. In 2005, seeking to lead at a high level without sacrificing time with her twin daughters, Elizabeth founded The Complete Package (TCP), which provides end-to-end solutions across product development, packaging, supply chain, and multichannel retail distribution. Clients include Olaplex, Hydrafacial, Bluemercury, Kiehl’s, and Colgate-Palmolive. In 2016, she founded Prestige Testing, a boutique agency built on rigorous consumer perception testing and in-house photography—setting a new standard for data-driven storytelling in beauty. Elizabeth's philosophy is grounded in action, accountability, and integrity. She champions women reentering the workforce and supports Dress for Success, Camden Street School, and Jersey Battered Women's Services.