Ohana and Susan Rockefeller Host Leading Health and Beauty Entrepreneurs at Peninsula

LOS ANGELES – Ohana & Co. invited a carefully curated group of the world’s top health and beauty entrepreneurs to the Peninsula Hotel on Thursday, August 23rd, for “Brands With Mission,” a special gathering dedicated to companies that defined a mission, executed a business plan and are already giving back to society.

“We created this event to showcase entrepreneurship in the health and beauty sector, particularly those business leaders who early in their journey were enlightened about the importance of giving back,” said Karine Ohana, Co-Managing Partner of Ohana & Co., a private, highly specialized investment bank focused on helping luxury and lifestyle brands achieve their business dreams. “We assembled some of the world’s most dynamic, innovative and successful founder/CEOs for idea exchange and sharing of like-minded values. Yes, it’s about business success, but it is simultaneously about improving society and recognizing the need to give back as soon as possible.”

“Brands With a Mission” was created by Susan Rockefeller, on behalf of Ohana. “The concept here was to identify up and coming brands in the health and beauty space that feature organic ingredients and a core value of sustainability in their overall mission,” Rockefeller explained. “We looked at a wide variety of brands and products, both large and small, new and more established, and chose the participants based upon a variety of factors. Using organic ingredients and sustainable manufacturing and recycling practices were a key piece of the consideration set.”

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – AUGUST 23: ENTITY CEO Jennifer Schwab and Susan Rockefeller attend Ohana & Co. LA Event – Brands With Mission at The Peninsula Beverly Hills on August 23, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Ohana & Co.)

Inspirational stories were told by these personalities including Anastasia Soare, “the eyebrow lady” and founder/CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills, who arrived from Romania with nothing but a background in art and architecture, and the insight that even in Hollywood, nobody paid attention to eyebrow styling or grooming. Over 20 years later, she is widely recognized for starting the “eyebrow design/styling” sector of the beauty industry, and her product line can be found from Nordstrom to Sephora to Ulta and beyond.

Also on hand was legendary “infomercial king” Bill Guthy who told the story of Guthy-Renker, which has morphed itself from infomercial pioneer to full-service direct marketer of a wide variety of successful health and beauty products including Proactiv, the world’s best-selling acne skincare remedy.

Yet another remarkable story was told by Lance Collins, serial entrepreneur founder of Fuze, NOS, Body Armor and now Core Organic beverages. Collins related his inspiration for Core Organic and how his previous ventures were acquired by Coca-Cola Company. Like Soare and Guthy, Collins is a supporter of a wide variety of philanthropic activities and organizations.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – AUGUST 23: A general view of atmosphere at Ohana & Co. LA Event – Brands With Mission at The Peninsula Beverly Hills on August 23, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Ohana & Co.)

Among the many other lesser known but on-the-rise participants were Elizabeth Vanemburg, President of Moon Juice, the groundbreaking apothecary-styled company founded by Amanda Chantal Bacon that uses plant-sourced alchemy to nourish and elevate body, beauty and consciousness; Michael Azoulay, co-founder and CEO of FRÉ Cosmetics, an Israeli line of skincare products designed specifically for “women who sweat” through workouts and fitness; KOS Paris Cosmetics founder Sophie Allouche who founded KOS based upon her love of plants and all things organic; and New Zealand based line Girl Undiscovered that traveled all the way from NZ to be on hand for the event.

“We were thrilled to have these industry leaders here to share their stories and discuss the various ways they are giving back,” said Karine Ohana. “We are a resource to all of them when the time comes to seek additional capital or look for larger, more established partners to help them carry their dreams forward more quickly and effectively.”

Ohana & Co. was founded in 1994 by Ariel Ohana. In the more than 20 years since, the firm has grown from a Paris based M&A boutique with primarily French clients to a global investment bank advising some of the most prestigious corporations in the world, including Procter & Gamble, VF Corp, Coty, AmorePacific, Mondadori, Omega Pharma and LVMH, as well as private equity funds, business owners and management teams. The firm’s focus is on the luxury and consumer goods, media and internet, healthcare and energy sectors; Ohana & Co. has completed over 100 transactions.