Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD), a non-profit trade association supporting creative, innovative companies, with a focus on independently owned businesses of all sizes, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ken Marenus as its president. Dr. Marenus has a distinguished career in the beauty industry and has been actively involved in representing the industry in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
 
Sanjiv Mehra, chairman of ICMAD, said in a statement: “Ken brings an unbeatable combination of extensive knowledge and a passion to encourage grassroots innovation and entrepreneurship across the beauty industry. Dr. Marenus’ expertise in issues that are relevant to regulators and legislators in the U.S. and internationally will be immensely valuable in representing and educating our members. His perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship in the beauty industry resonate strongly with our members and tie closely to ICMAD’s mission.”
 
Chris Hobson, vice chairman ICMAD, said, “ICMAD has been an active voice in the beauty industry and we have a strategy to continue to invest in resources for our members. With Ken’s leadership we look forward to being even more relevant and effective and to fulfilling our mission to support innovative beauty companies.”
 
Dr. Marenus will be responsible for overseeing the administration, programs and strategic plan of ICMAD. Other key duties include legislative advocacy, marketing, and member and community outreach. He will report directly to the Board of Directors and will work with them to fulfil the organization’s mission.
 
“The past decade has seen the growth of both tremendous opportunity and unique challenges for the cosmetics industry,” said Dr. Ken Marenus. “There has been a significant impact from the emergence of independent beauty companies as leaders in product innovation and branding over the past decade and as a result, ICMAD members and others like them, are now playing leading roles in the global beauty marketplace.  As new business models are created and barriers to competition change, we expect the industry to continue to experience strong levels of growth, innovation and globalization. Through this period, ICMAD will be a strong voice to foster creativity and innovation and to support the entrepreneurial spirit that is driving this change.  Having spent my career in beauty and having had many opportunities to get involved in broad industry issues, I am excited by this opportunity to lead ICMAD and to represent independent cosmetics companies.”
 
Dr. Marenus is recognized worldwide as one of the leaders in the field of cosmetic science and skin biology. He has authored 10 patents and numerous publications in medical and technical journals on topics ranging from product evaluation to the dermal impact of UV and IR exposure. His deep understanding of brands and the factories, labs and other entities that are an integral part of the beauty value chain, was developed from years of senior leadership experience at Estée Lauder and Mary Kay.   
 
Over the years, Dr. Marenus has served in a number of capacities at leading beauty industry trade associations. He was president of the Dermal Clinical Evaluation Society, a group dedicated to the advancement of safety and efficacy testing in the personal care and cosmetic industry. Dr. Marenus served as national president of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and was Chair of the committee on scientific affairs for the society. He was formerly Chair of the Scientific Executive Committee of the Personal Care Products Council in the United States and Chair of the International and Technical Committees of Cosmetics Alliance Canada. Additionally, he was on various committees of Cosmetic Europe and of International Cooperation for Cosmetics Regulations.
 
Dr. Ken Marenus has a Ph.D. as a cell biologist from UCLA and was a post-doctoral fellow in Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University.  He was an adjunct professor of Pharmacology and Industrial Pharmaceutics at Long Island University. He has also held adjunct faculty positions in Dermatology at the University of Texas at Dallas and at the State University of New York Stony Brook School of Medicine and in Biology at C.W. Post College. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the UCLA Life Sciences College.