A New Chapter for Ouai Hair Care Brand Under P&G
Prestige haircare brand Ouai has appointed Susan Kim as Chief Executive Officer, effective May 19, in a move that signals the start of a new growth phase under owner Procter & Gamble. Kim steps into the role after leading sun, skin and body care player Kopari Beauty since 2020, succeeding Colin Walsh, who departed to head Glossier. Ouai, founded in 2016 by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin, has grown from a stylist-led disruptor into a key player within P&G hair brands, spanning hair, body and fragrance. Atkin will remain as founder and Chief Creative Officer, ensuring the brand’s creative vision and identity stay intact post-acquisition. Ouai has described Kim’s arrival as a key milestone as it seeks to deepen retail partnerships, accelerate product innovation and enter its “next era of growth and expansion” in a competitive prestige haircare landscape.
Susan Kim’s Track Record in Beauty and Digital-First Brands
Susan Kim brings a resume built around scaling beauty brands and sharpening their digital edge. At Kopari Beauty, she is credited with guiding the brand through a period of significant growth, experience that aligns closely with Ouai’s ambitions. Before Kopari, Kim held senior marketing and digital roles at Huda Beauty, including Senior VP, Marketing & Digital, where she helped a social media–native brand expand globally. She also spent seven years at Benefit Cosmetics in leadership positions such as Senior VP, US and VP, Global Strategic Marketing, and previously worked in marketing at L'Oréal. This blend of traditional beauty expertise and digital-first leadership gives Kim a toolkit suited to prestige haircare growth. At Ouai, she is expected to leverage this background to harness community-led marketing, strengthen e-commerce and bring more discipline to global brand-building under P&G.
Scaling Prestige Haircare Globally While Protecting Luxury Positioning
Ouai’s appointment of Susan Kim as CEO is explicitly tied to international expansion and digital acceleration. The Ouai hair care brand already enjoys a strong retail footprint, with distribution through Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Amazon, and its Detox Shampoo ranked as Sephora’s top-selling wash product. Amazon sales have risen sharply, buoyed by repeat purchases, underscoring the importance of digital channels to the brand’s future. Under Kim, priorities include deepening relationships with key retailers, expanding across more international markets and keeping Ouai firmly in the luxury segment despite macroeconomic headwinds. The brand has identified markets such as the Middle East as key growth engines, building on availability across regions in Asia, Australia, the UK and Canada. Within P&G hair brands, Ouai is positioned as a prestige-led growth driver, and Kim’s mandate is to scale this premium proposition without diluting its aspirational edge.
Leveraging Digital Heritage and Community to Drive Future Growth
Ouai has long described itself as a digital-first brand with a strong community, and Susan Kim’s background suggests this will remain central to its strategy. She is expected to lean into Ouai’s founding DNA: a hairstylist-created brand that built loyalty through social media storytelling, education and lifestyle-driven positioning. The company has highlighted plans to accelerate digital sales growth, including leveraging marketplaces such as Amazon and strengthening direct-to-consumer channels. Under P&G, Ouai also gains access to broader data capabilities and supply chain scale, potentially enabling more targeted innovation and faster global rollouts. Kim’s challenge will be to fuse that corporate muscle with the agility and authenticity that first made the Ouai hair care brand resonate with consumers. Success will likely hinge on balancing performance-focused product launches, such as hero shampoos and styling products, with content, community engagement and localized strategies across emerging markets.