Milani Cosmetics Enters Its Next Chapter In The Beauty Industry With Announcement Of Its Executive Line-up, New Product Innovations & 2014 Business Plan

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Chief Executive Officer Ralph Bijou and President Laurie Minc of Milani Cosmetics, announced today Milani's new dynamic leadership team, re-energized brand platform and robust marketing and communications plans to enter its next evolution in business, catapulting the brand toward success in 2014 and beyond.  Launched in 2002, the brand has continued to grow at a steadfast pace, becoming the leader in multicultural color cosmetics and laying the foundation for significant and sustainable growth in years to come.

With over 27 years in the industry, Bijou and Minc have a strong passion and commitment to developing the most innovative and fashion-forward cosmetics for women of all ethnicities and ages. Inspired by Italy's cutting edge fashion and unique looks combined with extensive research to find the most advanced ingredients to work for women of all skin tones, Bijou and Minc created Milani cosmetics to mirror the growing diversity in the US market and offer a world of fearless color cosmetics with technologically superior formulas to empower every woman to be bold and beautiful.

As the brand embarks on its next stage of evolution, Bijou and Minc have conducted a painstaking and rigorous interview process, leading to the appointment of a committed and ambitiously powerful team of top executives to assume leadership roles at Milani:   

Rhonda Baron, Vice President of Sales and Business Development:  A seasoned executive with over 20 years of related industry experience of driving revenue growth for companies including Chrislie Formulations, Almay/Revlon and Sally Hansen.  Baron will oversee the next phase of the company's sales growth in the US and abroad.

Cindy Cirlin, Senior Vice President of Product Development: With 25+ years of creating successful products and restaging existing SKUs for brands such as L'Oreal, Estee Lauder and Revlon, Inc., Cirlin has proven her talent to take brands to the next level through creativity, innovation and efficacy. 

Gina Hagen, Chief Financial Officer: A 20-year beauty industry veteran, Hagen has been a strong contributor to creating value for companies including OPI Products Inc., a division of Coty Inc. and Trust Company of the West.  As CFO, Hagen will be responsible for overseeing the financial growth of Milani.

Surawati (Lia) Tirta, Vice President of Regulatory:  Previously, Tirta served as Global Regulatory Compliance Manager at OPI Products for six plus years, and Natrol, Inc. as Regulatory Affairs Administrator.  Tirta handles evaluation of all product labels and operating procedures to ensure USFDA, EU and Canada compliance claims.

Mona Monaghan-Kelliher, Chief Marketing Officer: With over two decades of experience in senior level marketing and business management positions, Monaghan-Kelliher has a record of growing cosmetic businesses through creative and effective marketing. Her portfolio consists of Managing Partner of the MMK Group, North America, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sally Hansen, Vice President of Marketing at Estee Lauder, and senior marketing positions at Revlon both domestically and abroad. Monaghan-Kelliher is responsible for the company's domestic and global marketing strategies, brand positioning, new product development, advertising, digital marketing, social media, customer insights, creative and sales.

"This dynamic and unique group of industry leaders is the key to strengthening our core business and preparing us for growth through strategic initiatives and product innovation," said Bijou, "Each member of our senior team brings value to the company through the synergy of multifaceted talents and expertise from marketing to financial growth to product innovation and development."

With the new team in place, Milani Cosmetics has just completed two extensive market research studies, which were used in developing all marketing strategies. Milani will kick off the spring season with widespread print advertising, digital and social initiatives, promotional activities at retail, a revamped website and public relations campaign across multiple media channels.  Through this strategic integrated approach, Milani has laid the groundwork to augment sales, ignite consumer awareness and bolster buzz nationwide.  Setting unprecedented standards in innovation, Milani introduced this month a portfolio of notable cosmetics including problem solving lip and brow beauty essentials.  Taking the brand to even greater heights, Milani will launch two game changing products in the nail and eye categories in the second half of the year.  The first of their kind, each collection combines unmatched quality formulations and patented technology with daring color palettes, providing consumers with unparalleled results.  Milani Cosmetics are currently available in all CVS and Kmart stores and select Walmart and Walgreen stores, with aggressive plans to expand exponentially in both domestic and international markets in 2014.

ABOUT MILANI COSMETICS
Founded twelve years ago, Milani is the destination brand for women who love color, love to experiment with new looks and shop for makeup in better drug stores and mass merchant retailers. These women seek innovative products, in richly pigmented colors, that are formulated to work together on a range of ethnicities to complement all skin tones and ages. Milani is the multi-cultural brand that delivers specialty store quality, at value pricing, in hundreds of shades, using technologically superior formulas, in lips, nails, cheeks, bronzers, face, brows, liners and more.  Inspired by Milan, Milani is distributed internationally in over thirty countries. Ralph Bijou, CEO and Laurie Minc, President have a twenty seven year track record in building strong brands, including Milani, both domestically and internationally. They are passionate about the cosmetic industry and are deeply committed to innovation, quality products and sustainable, long term growth.

SOURCE Milani Cosmetics