Beauty Executive Hires: EOS, FHI, Vernon François

As the beauty boom continues, several companies have made key hires. At EOS, Soyoung Kang has joined as chief marketing officer; at FHI, Thomas Gebhart has been hired as chief operating officer, and at Vernon François, Vincent Davis has joined as chief executive officer. EOS Hires Soyoung Kang as Chief Marketing OfficerMass market skin-care line EOS has hired Soyoung Kang as chief marketing officer.In the role, Kang will head up global brand strategy, communications and innovation. Her appointment comes at a time when EOS is focused on driving growth through global expansion. The New York-based business now has seven international offices and sells products in 18 countries. EOS, which gained traction for its spherical lip balms, also makes shave creams and hand and body lotions.Kang joins EOS from Bath & Body Works, where she was senior vice president of brand development merchandising. Kang had been with L Brands, the owner of Bath & Body Works, since 2005, in various roles.Kang’s appointment comes as the company has made several other key hires, including Bob Murphy, now general manager of North America, as well as hires in digital, e-commerce, public relations, influencer marketing and human resources. The company’s workforce has nearly doubled since 2017, EOS said.FHI Heat Hires Thomas Gebhart as Chief Operating OfficerHair tools business FHI Heat has hired Thomas Gebhart as chief operating officer. Previously, Gebhart was with Bio Ionic, another hair tools business, as chief operating officer.At FHI, Gebhart is in charge of driving the strategy and development of brand initiatives, including product development, global sales and distribution and marketing strategy.Before Bio Ionic, formally called Eurasia Concepts, Gebhart was senior vice president and general manager of Belson, which is part of Helen of Troy. There, he led the personal-care division. Before that, he was vice president of merchandising for Sally Beauty, and prior to that, he was at BeautyFirst, a beauty supply chain, as director of merchandising.Gebhart joins FHI as the company looks to reposition itself in the professional and luxury beauty spaces, he said. “With the right added focus on state-of-the-art technology, social media outreach and the knowledge of what our stylist really needs in order to facilitate their business, we will build tools that will undoubtedly take this company to the next level,” Gebhart said.Vernon François Hires Vincent Davis as CEOVernon François has tapped Vincent Davis to be the ceo of his eponymous home hair-care brand. Davis has 28 years of beauty industry experience, and has held senior leadership roles at Unilever, Flawless, Toni & Guy, TiGi Collection and Macadamia.“With the Vernon François collection now available in 11 markets across the globe, Vincent is the perfect partner to lead sales and growth strategy while also understanding my goal to connect with and inspire people to realize the potential and beauty of their hair texture,” François said, adding, “I’m really excited to take the brand to the next stage, which is global domination and recognizing texture as a whole and what that means to men and women, children, some background and manage that expectation through product and deliver it with great service.”In this new role, Davis plans to identify a global strategy and expand the brand’s distribution channels throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He declined to talk sales projections, but industry sources estimate that the brand will see double-digit growth over the next year.Davis also plans to expand online — both in terms of social media engagement as well as retailers, including Amazon.“We have to expand our current customers and then we have to look at new customers,” he said. “Amazon is a great avenue as consumers are going into Amazon and doing research, the brand needs to be available on there. As we look at geographic expansion, U.K., France, everywhere that there is a high percentage of curly, coiled, frizzy hair and where people want to have control of their hair.”

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