IT Cosmetics founder steps down as CEO

By

Robin Driver

Published
Aug 30, 2019

Jamie Kern Lima, the only female CEO in L’Oréal’s brand portfolio, announced on Thursday that she is stepping away from her role at IT Cosmetics, the beauty label she founded with her husband in 2008.

“It’s with a whole lot of prayer and clarity that I’ve made the extremely difficult decision to leave my role as CEO of IT Cosmetics,” said Kern Lima in an Instagram post. “While I am stepping away from running the brand day-to-day, I will forever remain in my role as IT Cosmetics’ greatest champion. Thank you forever to my IT Cosmetics team who is truly like family, many who worked 100+ hrs with me for years, building our mission together.”
 
Since launching the brand, which offers makeup solutions for women with skin conditions, Kern Lima has become the face of IT Cosmetics. The former local news anchor, who suffers from severe rosacea, kickstarted sales with live demonstrations of her own products on QVC, eventually attracting the attention of L’Oréal.

The French beauty giant acquired the brand for $1.2 billion in August 2016, making Kern Lima the first-ever female CEO of a brand in the conglomerate’s profile in its 108-year history. Along with co-CEO and husband Paulo Lima, Kern Lima signed a three-year contract with L’Oréal, which comes to term at the end of this month.
 
According to the label, since joining L’Oréal, IT Cosmetics has become the second-largest luxury makeup brand in the US, more than doubling in size.
 
Looking to the future, Kern Lima, who has already invested in more than a dozen female-led businesses over the last few years, has hinted that she will be devoting even more of her time to advocating for women in leadership positions.
 
“I know the time has come to step into an exciting new professional and personal chapter ahead,” said the entrepreneur in Thursday’s Instagram post.
 
“I believe part of my calling on this earth is to inspire and empower women everywhere to transform their self-confidence and learn to truly believe in their own power and possibility, and I am so excited to focus all of my time on being of service in this way,” she added, promising to “share more […] soon.”