A few months after stepping down from her role at Coty where she oversaw a $4.4 billion portfolio of consumer beauty products, Esi Eggleston Bracey is stepping into a new role at Unilever as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Personal Care North America, reports Black Enterprise. In this role, the marketing executive will be responsible for a $5 billion portfolio of products including brands like Dove, Suave, and Vaseline.
News of Bracey’s new position comes alongside word of Unilever’s purchase of Sundial Brands, which includes the multicultural company SheaMoisture. With Sundial’s acquisition, Black Enterprise reports that a $50 million fund is earmarked for investments in businesses run by women of color. The fund is expected to scale to $100 million in the future. In this new leadership role, Bracey will be working closely with Sundial’s co-founder Richelieu Dennis and his team, who are slated to continue running their brands.
In a news release, Dennis spoke of the company’s acquisition and his excitement to be working with Bracey.
“I’ve always wanted Sundial Brands to be an inspiration to other minority-owned companies of how a business against all odds can achieve excellence, have significant social impact in our communities and be successful on a world stage,” said Dennis, while expressing his excitement for the Unilever partnership. “I’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Esi and look forward to working with her to continue to change the game in beauty, personal care and community building.”
Stepping into her role at Unilever in January 2018, Bracey comes to the firm with years of leadership experience. She’s previously served as marketing director for CoverGirl, North America; VP & GM North America Color Cosmetics; SVP & GM Global Cosmetics and CMO Beauty Brand Building. In her work with CoverGirl she gave new life to the brand’s image and helped to bring in groundbreaking CoverGirls like Queen Latifah, Pink, Ellen DeGeneres, and Janelle Monáe.
In 2016 when Proctor & Gamble merged with Coty, Bracey was a part of the acquisition as President of Coty Consumer Beauty. However, shortly after the company’s stocks took a down turn, Bracey announced her departure.
In a LinkedIn blog post, the executive spoke about the sabbatical she has taken since stepping down from her role at Coty in March and says she’s now ready to “lace up for this next leg of (her) journey.”