Janet Gurwitch
Janet Gurwitch (born 1954) is the co-founder (with Gary Kusin) of Gurwitch Products, manufacturer of Laura Mercier Cosmetics. She founded the company in 1995 and launched the Laura Mercier line in March 1996.
Biography
A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, Gurwitch began her career at Foley's department store in Houston, Texas, rising to the position of Senior Vice President of Merchandising. She then moved to Neiman Marcus and served as the Executive Vice President from 1992-1995. As EVP, she was responsible for the merchandising strategy for all 35 stores. She co-founded Gurwitch Products in 1996 in order to market a boutique line of cosmetics carrying the name of French make-up artist Laura Mercier. She sold Laura Mercier to Alticor in 2006, the owner of Amway. Today, Gurwitch is a partner at Castanea Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, where she serves on the board of Drybar and First Aid Beauty; formerly on the board of Urban Decay.
She previously served on the advisory board of Dollar Shave Club, and on the Board of Directors of La-Z-Boy.
Gurwitch is an investor in, and serves on the board of, the Houston Astros baseball team.
External links
In the media
- Interview on The BusinessMakers Show February 14, 2009.
References
- CNN/Money.com, “Yes, More Mascara: How to launch a good-looking cosmetics brand.”, July 1, 2004. Retrieved March 24, 2006.