Gryphon and Portfolio Company News
Milani Cosmetics Announces Evelyn Wang as CMO
Announcement Marks Next Chapter of Brand Growth
Milani Cosmetics (“Milani,” or “the Company”), a leading “masstige” beauty company, announces Evelyn Wang as Chief Marketing Officer, effective October 23, 2018.
Evelyn Wang is an accomplished executive within the beauty industry. She most recently served as SVP of Marketing at Wet ‘N Wild where she was largely credited with enhancing the brand’s imagery to increase its relevancy to Gen Z and Millennial beauty consumers, which directly resulted in the brand’s ranking among the top-10 most Googled beauty brands of 2017. In her role, Wang oversaw all aspects of the brand’s marketing initiatives, including branding, global product development, communications, creative, market research and North American P&L.
Wang also played an integral role in increasing Wet N’ Wild’s distribution channels both domestically and globally, including the brand’s expansion into ULTA and Boots in 2018, significantly increasing retail sales and dollar sales during her tenure. She has also held senior leadership positions at L’Oréal Paris (Hair color/Skincare), Johnson & Johnson (Neutrogena Color Cosmetics) and The Estee Lauder Companies.
“Evelyn’s talent in shaping highly relevant brands for today’s modern millennial consumer and expertise in winning in the digital and mass cosmetic landscape is a huge asset,” says Grace Ray, CEO of Milani. “I am delighted to have Evelyn join the Milani team. With her proven track record of success and talented marketing leadership, Evelyn brings extraordinary experience to the position that will further drive Milani’s growth.”
In addition to Wang’s incredible career leading top of the line beauty brands, she was awarded the Women’s Wear Daily/Beauty Inc.’s prestigious Brand Builder of the Year award in 2016. The voting process was overseen directly by the WWD/Beauty Inc. editorial team, based on feedback from retailers and industry analysts and WWD/Beauty Inc.’s coverage throughout the year.
“It’s a thrill to take on the new challenge of CMO at Milani. This is a brand that already has a high degree of organic traction from consumers discovering its high product quality. There is a tremendous opportunity to amplify that process of consumer discovery and take Milani’s growth to the next level. I believe Milani has great potential to resonate with a diverse swath of consumers as their next must-have cosmetics brand,” says Wang. “It’s exciting to work with Grace Ray, who has such clear leadership and vision for the brand as well as the incredible team that is already in place at Milani. I have every confidence that we will take the brand to new heights of success and recognition.”
Milani is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, which acquired a majority interest in the Company earlier this year. Milani co-founders Ralph Bijou and Laurie Minc remain involved with the Company through their roles on the Board.
About Milani Cosmetics
Milani, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a market leader in the cosmetics industry, best known for its top-quality products for women of all skin tones and beauty goals. The company’s products are available in 75 countries and through key domestic retail partners including Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Ulta, and CVS. Please visit www.milanicosmetics.com for more information.
About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. Managing over $4 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997, the firm has an extensive track record of leading equity investments of $50 million to $200 million per portfolio company with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.