Carol J. Hamilton

Carol Hamilton is the “grande dame” and one of the most respected executives of the American Beauty industry. During her 30-year career with L’Oréal USA, she has been integral to its direction in the U.S. and its international development. Carol joined L’Oréal USA in 1984 as Director of Marketing for L’Oréal Cosmetics. In 2002, she was named President. Under her leadership, the L’Oréal Paris brand became the largest beauty brand in the USA, growing from a – $150M to $1.5B Business. In 2008, Carol Hamilton was named President of the L’Oréal Luxe Division, overseeing all Luxe brands including Giorgio Armani, Lancôme, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Yves Saint Laurent, Viktor & Rolf, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Clarisonic, Urban Decay, and most recently, the fragrance license of Proenza Schouler. During her 8 years running L’Oréal Luxe, she has moved from a $1B business to a $1.8B business, gaining market share and increasing its profitability in a strong and regular way. In January 2016, Carol Hamilton was promoted to Group President L’Oréal Luxe USA. She has now begun to delegate the operational animation of the USA business and focus more on the animation of the existing US beauty brands DMIs, the search and evaluation of new acquisitions as well as their integration into L’Oréal, and contribute to the global division’s strategy with an American perspective. Carol Hamilton was recently named a 2016 Matrix Award Honoree. She is also the recipient of Cosmetic Executive Women’s (CEW) Achiever Award and the Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research by the Cancer Research Institute. Carol Hamilton sits on the Board of Governors of Cosmetic Executive Women, the Board of Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, The Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Board, FIT CFMM (Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management) Industry Advisory Board and the U.S. New York Regional Board for UNICEF.