Ella Gorgla is a seasoned beauty industry and strategy executive with more than 20 years of experience. Ms. Gorgla is passionate about entrepreneurship, beauty, and the role women can play in advancing social equity. She serves as Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of 25 Black Women in Beauty, an organization founded to elevate and celebrate Black women in beauty while driving equity and inclusion in the industry. The organization has corporate partners including Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Chanel, Versed Skincare as well as more than 40,000 followers on Instagram and more than 2,000 subscribers to its network.

Previously, Ms. Gorgla was Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Innovation for The Estée Lauder Companies. She also was Executive Director of Global Retail for MAC Cosmetics where she launched innovative retail concepts around the world and led the entry of MAC Cosmetics into Ulta Beauty. She began her career as a strategy consultant with firms including Ernst & Young, IBM, and Arthur Andersen. Ms. Gorgla’s interest in entrepreneurship led her to launch an online fashion marketplace raising more than $1 million in capital.

Ms. Gorgla received her B.S. in industrial engineering from The Ohio State University, master’s degree from London Business School, and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School with additional studies at Yale University.