In a major leadership shift within the beauty industry, Topicals founder Olamide Olowe has stepped down from her role as Chief Executive Officer. Taking over executive leadership of the viral skincare brand is Sukiana Chancy, the former general manager of Fenty Beauty. Olowe will remain deeply involved in day-to-day operations as Chairwoman of the board.
Olowe launched Topicals in 2020, making history as the youngest Black woman to raise over $2 million in venture capital before eventually securing more than $15 million in funding. Under her leadership, Topicals became the fastest-growing skincare brand at Sephora.
Bringing on Global Expertise: Olowe cited the need for seasoned global executive experience to take Topicals to its next stage of growth. “I wanted to partner with someone who has worked their way up through marketing, built a global brand, and managed a profit-and-loss sheet much larger than ours,” Olowe shared.
Transition to Chairwoman: As Chairwoman, Olowe will focus on strategic brand growth, creative expansion, and overarching company vision while Chancy handles scaling global operations.
Sukiana Chancy brings extensive beauty industry experience to Topicals, having previously scaled Fenty Beauty into a global power brand. “I am grateful to the full Topicals team for a warm welcome and I am excited to work alongside Olamide Olowe to fan the flames on the dope brand that she’s geniously built,” Chancy expressed on social media.
