Our Founders
Cathy O’Brien
Cathy O'Brien is a strategic marketing and communications professional with over 25 years of global brand operating and brand-building experience. Honing her considerable skills in the ultra-competitive and continually-changing entertainment and beauty industries, she has spent her professional career as an integral part of top companies' executive teams - responsible for building businesses as well as identifying and launching emerging talent to worldwide success.
Cathy Co-Founded Bona Fide Beauty Lab, the Beauty Brand Accelerator that works with brands at all stages of development to strategically plan and grow awareness and sales. Prior to Bona Fide, seeing the potential of turning personalities into global Brands, she founded AAM Brand Management Group - a full-service organization providing a wide-range of brand-building capabilities to products, services and personalities that appeal to a global base, specifically serving women. Clients included LVMH brands, Marimekko, Hermes, The Kellwood Company, Fit Flop, Sam Edelman, Parker, Avon, Juice Press, L’Artisan Parfumier, Penhaligon’s, Dr. Amy Wechsler, Intelligent Nutrients, HINT, among others.
Prior to founding AAM, Cathy held senior positions at prominent companies such as Estee Lauder, where she was a Global Vice President building Tommy Hilfiger, Jo Malone, La Mer, Prescriptives and Kate Spade; BMG where she ran the International Division of Arista Records under Clive Davis representing Whitney Houston, Puffy Combs, Usher, Outkast and others; and Sony Music and Capitol Records in global marketing and creative leadership roles.
Cathy has a degree from the Harvard Business School and is currently an MSW Candidate at Columbia University. She holds a certificate in Domestic Violence through the Criminal Justice School at the University of Massachusetts and works as an advocate at the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Pamela Baxter
A leader in the beauty industry, Pamela Baxter has been at the forefront of change for start-up, licensing, turnarounds and acquisitions in luxury cosmetic, skincare, and fragrance for the past several decades.
Most recently, Ms. Baxter held a dual role at LVMH, first heading LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics for North America and afterward was hand-selected to take the helm as President and CEO for Dior Couture in North America and Mexico. There, she facilitated brand value-based conversations with the Dior executive teams, focusing on brand revitalization and standardization, human capital, and customer engagement. Her leadership strengthened the synergy between fashion and beauty accelerating a turnaround for the Dior brand. She was also instrumental in assembling a team to focus Fresh on skincare enabling an expansion into the Asia markets with a focus on China.
Prior to LVMH, Ms. Baxter worked with Estée Lauder Companies where she signed the first licensing agreement with Tommy Hilfiger and let the development and distribution for fragrances. She later served as the President of the Specialty Group where she led the acquisition of Jo Malone and the development of La Mer, morphing it from a single jar of cream into a major luxury skincare brand.
Ms. Baxter currently serves as an Operating Partner at MidOcean Partners, a premier New York based asset manager specializing in mid-market private equity. She also serves on the board of BH Cosmetics, a MO brand. Ms. Baxter has served as a mentor to the Sephora Accelerate Program. She also serves on the CEW Board and on the Student Advisory Board at FIT for the MPS Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing/Management program.