Glossier, a cult-favorite beauty brand that has swept the nation for the past few years with their trendy packaging, exclusivity, and clean beauty approach, is making a huge leadership change. After eight years at the helm of the company, Glossier founder Emily Weiss has stepped down as CEO. Weiss announced the news of her departure, as well as introduced the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Leahy, on her Instagram as well as the Glossier blog.
In the blog post, Weiss writes, “I will always be Glossier’s founder. But a CEO is the champion that a company looks to, to lead it into tomorrow. From my observation, the greatest companies in the world understand this distinction and make sure that the CEO seat is always filled with the right person to take it where it needs to go for its brightest next chapter.”
While she will no longer be CEO, Weiss made it known that she will still be invested fully in the company with her new position as Executive Chairwoman and in her continuing position as founder. In her new role, she will be “working closely with Kyle and our board on stewarding Glossier into 2025, 2030, and beyond,” according to the announcement.
Amid the transition, Weiss spoke confidently of Leahy’s ability to take on the role of CEO, noting her extensive experience and “huge heart”. Since 2021, Leahy has served as Glossier’s Chief Commercial Officer and prior to joining that company, she has worked for Nike, Cole Haan, and American Express. “From the get-go, Kyle understood that Glossier is in year 7 of a 100-year journey,” Weiss writes in the post, speaking about Leahy’s appointment. “We had long discussions about the evolution of our company strategy, anchored in our shared understanding that distribution channels change, history is cyclical, but iconic brands and products are forever.”
As we all know, Weiss has played such an instrumental role in taking Glossier to extraordinary heights and changing the beauty industry for the better. With Weiss now stepping aside from her long-held role as CEO, we will follow how Leahy takes Glossier into its next chapter.
To read Weiss’ announcement in full, be sure to head over to the Glossier website. And, for the latest news on all things Glossier, make sure to follow @glossier on Instagram.
