The 20-year-old phenomenon of Color Cosmetics, M·A·C, is taking a giant step forward, revitalizing itself in a global, digital environment. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (ELC) has announced that Karen Buglisi Weiler, Global Brand President, M·A·C Cosmetics, has decided to leave the company effective December 31, 2018, after 20 years, to prioritize personal commitments.
 
Philippe Pinatel, a former leading executive at Birchbox, has been appointed Senior Vice President, Global General Manager, M·A·C Cosmetics, effective March 5, 2018. Pinatel will join The Estée Lauder Companies’ Executive Leadership Team and report directly to John Demsey, Executive Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies.
 
Buglisi Weiler will support Pinatel’s transition through the end of the current fiscal year. Effective July 2018, she will move into an advisory role and extend support to M·A·C Cosmetics and The Estée Lauder Companies’ North America Region.
 
“I would like to sincerely thank Karen for the strong success she helped M·A·C achieve under her leadership and for her deep dedication to the brand,” said Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. “As Karen takes this important personal step forward, I am also thrilled to welcome Philippe to our company. The M·A·C brand will strongly benefit from his tremendous leadership in this important role.”
 
Pinatel brings to M·A·C more than 20 years of experience building fast-growing, large-scale online and retail operations. According to ELC, “his deep understanding of prestige beauty, specialty-multi and digital are critical to leading a transformative effort in how M·A·C engages and inspires consumers globally.” He will guide how brand teams work together to further increase operational efficiency while prioritizing expansion in high-growth channels, evolving distribution and building new cutting-edge capabilities to drive relevance and engagement with existing and new consumers.
 
“Philippe shares our vision to propel the brand into its next chapter of growth, reinvigorating M·A·C’s presence and impact on the industry globally,” said Demsey. “He brings tremendous experience from disruptive online and retail channels that have experienced explosive growth under his direction. His transformative approach to leadership, strength in brand-building and extensive digital-first beauty experience will inspire new ways for the brand to lead as the renegade and trendsetter in the beauty and retail industries.”
 
Pinatel is known as a growth leader, joining M∙A∙C Cosmetics from the beauty retailer Birchbox, where he served as President and Chief Operations Officer since 2015. At Birchbox, Pinatel led several key functions including merchandising, retail, operations and international. He focused on driving strategic and efficient growth, reducing operating costs, and positioning the company as an innovator in the beauty retail landscape. Under Mr. Pinatel’s leadership, Birchbox advanced several key areas of its business including BirchboxMan, product development and European operations, along with its core subscription.
 
Pinatel also brings diverse global experience, having lived and worked across the U.S., Canada, Europe, China and South Korea over the course of his career. Prior to Birchbox, Mr. Pinatel served as Senior Vice President and General Manager (GM) of Sephora Canada, and Vice President and GM of Sephora Inside JCPenney from 2010 to 2016. While at Sephora, his leadership was integral in driving omnichannel initiatives. He previously spent 11 years at the beauty company Guerlain International, leading operations in several international markets throughout his tenure, including France, Korea, Northern Europe and China.
 
Buglisi Weiler was one of the first M∙A∙C employees hired when The Estée Lauder Companies fully acquired the brand in 1998. At that time, M∙A∙C’s North America business consistently experienced double-digit growth, outpacing industry growth under her leadership as Vice President, North America Sales and Artist Training. In 2010 she was promoted to Global Brand President; in this role she helped grow the brand from 1,400 doors to more than 3,400 and increased the brand’s presence from 74 countries to 106, driving cultural relevance in all markets while driving M∙A∙C’s core values and vision. In the last year she made the bold move to expand the brand’s presence into fast-growing channels across specialty-multi and Online, including Ulta Beauty in the U.S. and Tmall in China.
 
“Karen is a relentless supporter of delivering the best experience possible to our consumers through upholding our core value of makeup artistry,” said Demsey. “She prioritized building an infrastructure to develop, inspire and mobilize an exceptional team of more than 20,000 artists globally who are at the heart of the brand and instrumental to its success. Her endless enthusiasm, unwavering passion and fierce loyalty to the brand’s future were driving forces to support M·A·C in its unconventional rise to success.”
 
For more than a decade, Buglisi Weiler has served on the Board of Directors for the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund, which has helped to raise over $450 million for those affected by HIV/AIDS. She also serves as a member of the CEW board and was recognized with a CEW Achiever Award in 2013. Prior to her career at M∙A∙C Cosmetics, she was the U.S. National Sales Manager for Adipar, a division of Escada and a field sales manager for Borghese, a global beauty company.
 
Demsey said, “We are thrilled Karen is staying to help with the transition and support our company’s North America business. As we welcome Philippe into his new role, we also want to thank Karen for her tireless contributions and dedication to M·A·C.”