The guy: Daniel Kaner
The gig: Co-president of Oribe Hair Care (and, unofficially, the dude in charge of product development…)

Beauty Backstory: “I’ve been in the beauty business for 20 years, but only started working on product development at Oribe. At Aveda, I focused on business development and marketing strategy and worked with stores and distribution channels. At Bumble and bumble, I was responsible for marketing, sales, and overall strategy for the brand. I worked on products from a concepting standpoint (i.e. what does the market want?).

My roles in the industry have consistently changed and evolved. When we started Oribe Hair Care, there were only a few of us and since I’d been working on the periphery of product development, and because I’m a very creative individual, it made sense for me to take the lead. Now that we’ve expanded and have an entire product development team, I’m there to guide the team and help them understand the nuances of the market and the points of difference between our products and those of other brands.”

The Nitty Gritty: “Oribe often comes up with what the product should feel like and how it should work, then I, along with my team, find the right chemists and labs to actually create the products. We give them to Oribe and a team of editorial and salon stylists, plus some lucky employees for testing and then take the feedback to the chemists for tweaking.”

Pretty Perks: “It’s amazing to see all the new technologies and ingredient innovations. It allows us to be creative, and to know that we’ll be able to find a way to make our vision a reality. It doesn’t stop at the formula – there’s more fun to be had working with the top fragrance houses in the world to perfect the scent, design the packaging with our design firm, coming up with names, and then marketing the product to our salons and consumers. It’s inspiring to see the product go from an idea to a concrete item on the shelves.”

Secret to Success: “Find excellent mentors and work with products as much as possible, whether at a fragrance house or at a small brand that really allows you to work with chemists and understand the process. It doesn’t hurt to have a degree in chemistry, if you have that love. Be a good consumer and understand products and how they look and differentiate themselves.”

Illustration by Naomi Abel