For its third edition, Beauty Independent Dealmaker Summit will be back in New York later this month bringing together the most influential beauty and wellness dealmakers—and many attendees from the last edition will be there.
According to Nader Naeymi-Rad, founder of Beauty Independent parent company IBMG and the publication’s publisher, the repeat attendance rate for the forthcoming Dealmaker Summit, which will run from June 17 to 18 at the Convene event venue in Manhattan, is expected to be around 80%. He says, “The response to these shows has been beyond our expectations.”
Naeymi-Rad adds, “What’s made Dealmaker special has been this real laser focus on the content. Having moderators from Beauty Independent’s editorial team who are objective and understand the questions the audience needs answers to is the driving force. We work on the agenda for months, talking to as many people in the community as possible in order to understand current topics and which experts to call on to be a part of these panel sessions.”
After attending Dealmaker EU/UK in November last year, Aaron Chatterley, co-founder of teen beauty brand Indu and e-tailer Feelunique, knew he shouldn’t miss the New York edition. “I found the London event so insightful and beneficial, not to mention the fact that both funds that ended up filling our current investment round were attendees,” he says. “I’m confident New York will be equally beneficial and a chance to widen our network and knowledge base.”
Informed by data from Circana, NielsenIQ, McKinsey & Co., among other sources, the Dealmaker Summit will have 14 panels with themes such as “State of Dealmaking” and “View from the Top.” The former panel will feature Rich Gersten, co-founder and managing partner at True Beauty Ventures, and Nicole Forgoux, operating partner at Stride Consumer Partners. The latter panel will feature Carol Hamilton, group president of acquisitions and West Coast headquarters at L’Oréal, and Michel Brousset, founder and CEO at Waldencast.
Each stage and category of dealmaking will be covered by experts like Ken Suslow, founder and managing partner of Sandbridge Capital, Sandra Amer-Nait, managing director of luxury, fashion and beauty at Rothschild & Co., Diana Melencio, general partner and board member at XRC Ventures, Manica Blain, founder of Top Knot Ventures, and Courtney Nelson, principal at L Catterton.
Melis Del Rey, GM of Amazon’s North America beauty business, Ransley Carpio, VP of business development and head of venture investments at Front Row, and Luc-Henry Rouselle, managing director of investment banking in consumer, leisure and retail at DC Advisory will tackle how investors should view and value a brand’s Amazon business. Henry Davis, CEO of Sakara Life, Ilya Seglin, managing director of investment banking at Cascadia Capital, and Andrew Stanleick, senior private equity advisor, will discuss the power retailers hold.
Chatterley will join Mark Curry, co-founder of The Inkey List, Jill Scalamandre, CEO of Beekman 1802, and Larissa Jensen, SVP and global beauty industry advisor at Circana, for a “Value Across Generations” panel that will explore opportunities that different generations of consumers offer beauty brands. Emerging categories ripe for investment activity like longevity, biotechnology, body care and sexual wellness will be covered by panel discussions, too.
Chatterley says, “I’m not aware of another event globally that brings together such high-profile and high-quality attendees and panelists across the spectrum of venture, growth, M&A and also the most exciting brands. So, as a beauty founder on a growth path, it’s a unique opportunity to learn from and connect with the best in the business.”
For the first time, Beauty Independent’s editorial team will participate in a session about trends likely to shape dealmaking in the future. Moderated by editor in chief Rachel Brown and with panelists and editors Claire McCormack, Taylor Bryant and Erica La Sala, it will delve into Sephora-centered trends like gen alpha’s interest in prestige skincare and the lip product craze as well as mergers between small brands and med-spa proliferation.
The Dealmaker Summit is sponsored by Braunhagey & Borden, Cosmetic Solutions, Sayn Beauty and Voyant Beauty. The event will draw a diverse group of professionals active in beauty dealmaking, including strategics, mid-sized portfolio companies, private equity, venture capital, family offices, angel investors, incubators, investment bankers and M&A consultants. Founders and operators of the beauty and wellness brands Skinfix, Ogee, Playground, Patrick Ta, Poundcake, Beekman 1802, Victoria Beckham Beauty, Sacheu, Fekkai and Amika will be attending and speaking.
Select invitations have also been extended to founders and CEOs of key technology and supply chain companies serving the beauty and wellness industries. Dealmaker Summit ticket holders will have complimentary access to Beauty Independent’s Uplink Expo, a trade show taking place on June 20 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Approximately 80 emerging brands and suppliers will exhibit at Uplink Expo.
“Our goal is to really build a community of dealmakers,” says Naeymi-Rad. “We approached developing Dealmaker in a very unique way. Because every attendee and panelist is a paid ticket holder, they are all united by the desire to connect, to learn, to share, to grow. It’s lightning in a bottle.”
Click here to secure Early Bird tickets to Dealmaker Summit NYC happening June 2-3, 2025.
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