Tara Simon named global general manager of Too Faced

By

Robin Driver

Published
Sep 5, 2020

The Estée Lauder Companies announced on Friday that Ulta Beauty alum Tara Simon has joined the group as senior vice president and global general manager of the Too Faced brand, effective August 31. Simon succeeds Eric Hohl in the position and will report to Estée Lauder executive group president John Demsey.
 

In her new role, Simon will be responsible for developing and implementing Too Faced’s global strategy and leading the brand’s teams. She will also collaborate with brand founders Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson to come up with ways to strengthen affinity with existing Too Faced fans and attract new customers.
 
This isn’t the first time that Simon is working with Blandino and Johnson, having partnered closely with them since 2006, both at Ulta and Sephora.

Most recently, Simon served as SVP of merchandising for prestige beauty at Ulta, a role in which she oversaw unprecedented growth in the cosmetics retailer’s total market share in the prestige beauty sector.
 
During her time in the position, Simon dramatically increased the number of prestige brands sold by Ulta, attracting exclusive launches from big-name brands such as Mac and Clinique, while also successfully launching smaller start-up brands.
 
Prior to joining Ulta in 2012, Simon served as chief merchant and SVP for planning and inventory at Kansas-based Beauty Brands for close to four years, having previously held the role of DMM for color merchandising at Sephora from 2006 to 2008.
 
“Tara is a visionary strategic leader and brand builder with deep experience in prestige beauty and makeup,” said Demsey in a release. “She will be instrumental in helping to bring the unique brand narrative centered around Jerrod’s inspiring products and experiences to new audiences globally. Her vast expertise and ability to drive winning business results within the specialty-multi prestige beauty space makes her uniquely suited to bring Too Faced to new levels of success.”
 
Simon, who holds a BBA in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin’s Red McCombs School of Business, has received a number of awards, including a Cosmetic Executive Women Achiever Award in 2018.
 
She also sits on the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board, supporting The Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and serves on the National Board of Directors of CEW. She previously served on the advisory board of the NPD Group.