Specialty hair care brand Ouidad, known for its curly and wavy product range looks like it’s heading toward becoming a major player in the hair care category, bringing on highly experienced and successful management leaders from the industry.

David L. Stern has been appointed president and CEO of Ouidad. He joins the specialized hair care brand from Kao Brands Corporation where he served as regional executive officer for the Mass business and global chief marketing officer/senior vice president of strategy and innovation. In these roles, Stern was responsible for a global brand portfolio, which included John Frieda, Jergens, Curel, Biore, and Ban and Guhl.

Stern has a vast beauty and personal care background, having previously founded Endeavors, Inc., an innovative manufacturing company, which brought 11 luxury home and personal care brands and over 200 products to market. Prior to that he worked at Unilever where he held various managerial positions including director of new business development for the Home and Personal Care division in North America and vice president of marketing, managing e-business in the U.S., among others.

John Hetherington has taken on a new position at Ouidad—CFO/COO. He joined the company in September 2013 from Alterna Holding Corp. where he served as chief financial officer, responsible for managing multiple departments. Hetherington has vast experience in finance in the hair care industry. Prior to working at Alterna, he served as CFO at Fekkai, LLC and vice president of finance at L’Oreal, USA.