Samantha Barry, Editor-in-Chief, Glamour

Samantha Barry is the editor-in-chief of Glamour where she oversees content, development, and consumer experiences across the brand’s digital, social, video, and print verticals. Under her leadership, Glamour emphasizes a digital-first focus on original reporting, exclusive features, and unique perspectives impacting women today across financial, interpersonal, fashion, beauty, wellness, and political topics. She has also strengthened Glamour’s commitment to body positivity by showcasing size-inclusive brands and models across all channels.

Barry has transformed the annual Women of the Year Awards into an inspirational multi-day event, celebrating Glamour’s diverse community of women through a series of rewarding experiences, empowering panels, discussions, hands-on activations, and keynotes.

Prior to joining Glamour Barry served as executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN Worldwide. Under her leadership at CNN, the network became the most followed and fanned news organization in the world. She spearheaded the organization’s 2016 election coverage across social platforms, which received the first ever Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in social media.

Carol Hamilton, Group President of Acquisitions, L'Oreal USA

Carol Hamilton is the Group President of Acquisitions for L’Oreal USA. During her 36-year tenure at L’Oreal, she has been responsible for building the L’Oreal Paris flagship brand from an indie brand in the 80’s into the number one global beauty brand worldwide, behind the iconic phrase celebrating women’s worth “Because I’m Worth It”. In 2008, she took over the helm of the L’Oreal Luxury Division, tripling the sales in her 10-year tenure. Leading the successful acquisitions of Clarisonic, Urban Decay and It Cosmetics, she went on to run these brands - along with Kiehl’s, Lancôme, Armani Beauty and YSL, globally. Carol also pioneered and built the D2C platform for the Luxury Division over the last 10 years.

Throughout her career, Carol has been dedicated to philanthropic causes all linked by her passion to better women and children’s lives. In 2009, Carol spearheaded the Acqua for Life program with UNICEF for the Giorgio Armani Brand, and subsequently joined the National Board for UNICEF. She was appointed Chair for the New York Regional Board for UNICEF in 2019. In 2013, as a member of the Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board, Carol spearheaded the Women in Power program to promote gender equality at L'Oréal. In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the Board and will continue in this capacity through 2022.

Carol and her husband, Rodney, split their time between their home in New York and their country home in Connecticut where Carol can usually be found in her beautiful gardens accompanied by her two cherished Maine Coon cats.

Carlotta Jacobson, President, Cosmetic Executive Women, CEW Foundation

Carlotta Jacobson is a leader in the beauty industry. She has held a series of key positions including beauty editor of Harper’s Bazaar and her current role as president of the industry’s foremost association, Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW).

CEW is an international organization of 10,000 individual members representing a cross section of beauty and related businesses. CEW’s primary purpose is to support the advancement of women in the beauty industry through programs that provide continuous career development. CEW provides unparalleled opportunities to network and gain industry knowledge through events, trend reports, industry newsletters, interactive workshops, and innovative industry leader talks.

Carlotta Jacobson’s leadership, passion, and vision have established CEW as the preeminent organization it is today. During her tenure at CEW, Ms. Jacobson has led the organization through tremendous expansion—from fewer than 800 to over 10,000 members — developed a prestigious board of governors, and spearheaded the creation of unique programs including the annual Beauty Awards and the CEW Beauty Insider digital newsletter and website. In addition, she has initiated hugely successful partnerships with major beauty companies and retailers, notable among them the QVC Beauty with Benefits broadcasts showcasing prestige beauty brands whose sales benefits Cancer and Careers.

A dedicated supporter of charitable activities, Ms. Jacobson is also president of the CEW Foundation, founded in 1993. She launched the foundation’s first independent initiative, Cancer and Careers, which is now 15 years strong and the recognized authority on work-related support for cancer patients and survivors.

Ms. Jacobson was honored by the American Cancer Society for her commitment to supporting working women with cancer.

In 2012, she received two awards: the CEW UK Achiever Awards 2012 Special Industry Award and Traditional Home Classic Woman Awards 2012 Editor & Publisher Award.

In February 2014, she was named in WWD Beauty Inc.’s first-ever list of the 50 most influential people in beauty industry.

She has served as chairwoman of Women In Need (WIN), a nonprofit charitable organization that provides housing and other vital services to homeless women and their children in NYC.

R. Alexandra Keith, CEO, P&G Beauty

As the only female CEO of a top-5 beauty company, Alex Keith leads P&G Beauty, one of the world’s most valuable beauty businesses, with a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of iconic brands that include Pantene, Olay, Head & Shoulders, SK-II, Herbal Essences, Secret, Old Spice and Safeguard.

A degreed chemical engineer, Alex joined P&G in 1989 as a product supply manager before moving into marketing six years later, where she went on to lead brands like Olay, Old Spice, Secret, Tide and Downy. As a brand builder, she’s been the architect of many memorable marketing campaigns and product innovations and has a reputation as a game-changer who transforms categories and businesses.

As president of P&G’s Skin and Personal Care portfolio from 2014 – 2017, Alex led the turnaround of Olay, making it once again a relevant brand that speaks to a new generation of women in more emotive, powerful ways, with meaningful superior innovation like Whips, a weightless yet deeply absorbing moisturizer that is reinventing skin care for today’s millennials.

In 2017, Alex became president of P&G’s overall global Beauty business, leading the skin, personal care and hair care portfolios. Her positive impact on the Hair Care business includes the first-ever hair care partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to authenticate Herbal Essences botanical active ingredients.

Alex’s passion and support for diversity and inclusion have likewise fueled her advocacy for multiethnic brands, including Pantene Gold Series and H&S Royal Oils: products designed by women of color for consumers of color and engaging meaningful conversations through campaigns like the Cannes Lion-winning The Talk; and P&G’s recent acquisition of Walker & Co.

In 2019, Alex sponsored the creation of P&G Beauty’s Responsible Beauty program, an embedded operating approach that prioritizes the intersectionality of equality and inclusion with values like sustainability, safety, performance and quality.

Heidi Manheimer, Chairwoman, CEW Foundation

Having served at the C-suite level in the US Cosmetics and Beauty industry, Heidi Manheimer is the Chairman of the Board of Surratt Cosmetics, a luxury cosmetics brand, backed by 2x Partners, a private equity investor. In this capacity, she is leading the charge and building a team to grow Surratt Cosmetics into an established, prestige make-up brand.

Continually breaking new ground, Heidi Manheimer was the first American woman appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer for Shiseido Cosmetics America. Ms. Manheimer’s unsurpassed retail acumen helped in translating the over 14-year old legacy of Shiseido into a relevant and competitive brand within the U.S. market. Under her expert stewardship, the U.S. division of the Japanese cosmetic grant experienced continual year-over-year growth across all categories, including cosmetics, skincare and fragrance.

Ms. Manheimer first joined Shiseido in September 2000 as Executive Vice President and General Manager. Within two years, she was promoted to President of U.S. Operations, a title she held from April 2002 until her appointment to CEO in January of 2006. During Ms. Manheimer's tenure, she played a pivotal role in deepening strategic relationships with retail partners and in growing Shiseido's business. Ms. Manheimer also led the company's digital transformation, driving e-commerce sales and the brand's social media presence.

Prior to joining Shiseido, Ms. Manheimer was the Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager of Cosmetics, Fragrances and Apothecary at Barney’s New York. Always a visionary, Ms. Manheimer had an integral role in the introduction of several now-popular fragrance and beauty brands, including NARS Cosmetics, while at Barney’s. Ms. Manheimer began her retail career at Bloomingdale’s.

Active in industry associations and charitable causes, Ms. Manheimer serves on the executive committee of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW). Outside of the beauty industry, Ms. Manheimer is on the Board of Directors of Burton Snowboards and Herman Miller, Inc.

Suze Yalof Schwartz, Founder and CEO, Unplug Meditation

Suze Yalof Schwartz is the Founder and CEO of Unplug Meditation, the world's first drop-in secular meditation studio. She is the creator of the Unplug: Meditation app, and the author of Unplug: A Simple Guide To Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers. In 2012, Suze learned a three-minute meditation that changed her life forever. Prior to this, she was a fashion editor and "makeover guru" working at Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Glamour Magazine with regular appearances on GMA, The Today Show, CBS Early Show, and more. Once she discovered meditation, she was determined to keep doing it but could not find a place to easily learn and practice. After taking hundreds of hours of classes, reading every book possible, and listening to podcasts and lectures from the world's most famous meditation teachers, Suze realized that meditation needed a makeover and she was the one to do it. Suze's mission is to make meditation simple, accessible, powerful and interesting enough so that everyone will want to practice it and experience the benefits for themselves.

Kim Seymour, Chief People Officer, WW (formerly Weight Watchers)

Kim Seymour has spent her career being a change agent driving the evolution of human resources teams to strongly contribute to business strategy and anticipate the ever-changing business environment. With over 20 years managing human resources from revenue-generating commercial businesses to vast global servicing organizations, Kim has a demonstrated ability to architect transformation, forge connections, deliver insights and link talent to strategy. A lifelong curiosity about what makes people join, perform, contribute, stay and elevate has made her an invaluable partner to senior leaders who understand that strong talent is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Kim joined WW (formerly Weight Watchers) as Chief People Officer in April 2019 to lead WW’s global strategy in all human capital. She oversees all aspects of the company’s human capital plan, with strong emphasis on talent, leadership, and organizational effectiveness.

Prior to joining WW, Kim spent a decade at American Express, most recently as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, where she developed and delivered impactful HR strategies for 65% of the company’s employees. Prior to Amex, Kim held successive roles at Home Depot and General Electric.

Throughout her career, Kim has been a trusted advisor and thought partner, building world-class business teams and ensuring that the people side of the business equation enables strategic growth plans. Kim wholeheartedly believes that talent, leadership and culture are the keys to winning, therefore she focuses on the quality of the talent and leadership in the business, the culture being created, the effectiveness of programs and policies, workforce dynamics, change leadership, succession pipeline, employee engagement, inclusive leadership and employer brand, among other key levers. Kim’s leadership is rooted in strong business acumen and has extended to many forward-thinking HR innovations in the areas of talent assessment, succession planning, organizational design, performance management, labor relations, benefits, acquisitions, divestitures, and coaching. Kim makes time to speak on all of these topics and her personal leadership philosophies to a variety of audiences globally.

Kim holds a JD from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Indiana University.

DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director, NFL Players Association

DeMaurice Fitzgerald Smith is the Executive Director of the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA). Smith was appointed to his fourth three-year term by unanimous vote of the NFLPA’s Executive Committee in October 2017. He has been named one of the top ten most influential executives in sports. As Executive Director of the Player’s Union, he has negotiated two comprehensive collective bargaining agreements and is currently the longest serving Executive Director of a major sport union. As the Chief Executive Officer of the NFLPA’s for profit company Player’s Incorporated, he has guided annual revenues to over $200M and witnessed the largest growth in player’s marketing and licensing.

In March 2020, he successfully negotiated his second long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Football League. The eleven-year deal will provide players with their guaranteed highest share of NFL revenue in history. The agreement improved health care, pensions and benefits for all players, achieved a twenty percent increase in the salaries of the core players and reached back to players who had previously retired without full benefits and brought them to the current level of retirees. He also led the negotiations to create comprehensive Covid-19 protections and protocols for his membership, obtained comprehensive testing and opt out provisions for players and designed the return to play agreements that secured NFL Players being paid their full salary for the season despite a projected $3billion shortfall for 2020.

Prior to his election as the Executive Director, Mr. Smith was recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in the country. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia for nearly a decade and was formerly Counsel to then Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in the United States Department of Justice.

He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a 1985 graduate of Cedarville University.

Ellen Zentner, Managing Director, Chief U.S. Economist, Morgan Stanley

Ellen Zentner is Chief US Economist and a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Ms. Zentner has been named to the “Bloomberg Best” list of top forecasters of the US economy and has 20-plus years’ experience as a Fed watcher and markets-based economist, with a keen eye toward early identification of market-moving trends. In 2018 and 2020, she and her team received the Lawrence R. Klein Award for the most accurate economic forecasts from 2014 to 2019.

Ellen joined Morgan Stanley in 2013 from Nomura Securities International, where she served as Senior Economist for Fixed Income. Previously, she served as the Senior Economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., and Senior Economist at the Texas State Comptroller.

Ellen serves on the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC), the Economic Advisory Panel for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as well as the American Bankers’ Association, and is Chair of SIFMA’s Economic Advisory Roundtable. She is a Director of the National Association for Business Economics and is a past president of NYABE. Ms. Zentner holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Colorado and is an avid fly fisherman.