Glossier has named Colin Walsh its new chief executive officer.
Walsh will assume the role Oct. 6. He succeeds Kyle Leahy, who announced that she will be departing the brand at year-end in June. Similarly, Walsh revealed his departure from Procter & Gamble’s specialty beauty division the same month.
“I am thrilled that Colin is joining us as Glossier’s new CEO. He’s one of the very best CEOs in beauty, and his experience building and fostering brands makes him the ideal leader to guide this next chapter,” said Emily Weiss, Glossier’s founder and executive chairwoman, via email.
Walsh has held the top job a few times, including at Jen Atkin’s Ouai pre- and post-acquisition by P&G. While his strategic vision for the brand is still a work in progress, he said, “It’s a brand that had my heart for a long, long time. Anyone who’s been in the industry knows the power and magic.”
Glossier, which was one of beauty’s most powerful direct-to-consumer brands in its early days, entered Sephora in 2023 and augmented its product assortment with category adjacencies such as fragrance. It has also, via Sephora, expanded into key international markets like France.
“Glossier has had 10 years of growth, remarkable teams past and present breathing life into it. To come into this remarkable group of people means to be really curious, listening to what is needed now. As the industry has evolved and the landscape is crowded, you have to be listening,” Walsh said.
He did say the business’ more tactical elements, such as channel, category and distribution, “follow deep clarity around brand purpose, relationship to customer and the belief that products are ones people love.
“The brand was built by listening to our customers, and born out of Emily and Into The Gloss and that’s the DNA. So, a big part of my listening tour will be external,” he continued.
Product-wise, though Walsh “doesn’t think it’s a punch card of touching all the categories, but I do think Glossier has the opportunity and potential to play in lots of categories.”