PCPC Annual Meeting Surveys Industry, Urges Action in a "Wired World"

At the general session of the Personal Care Products Council’s 117th Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, March 1, more than 450 industry leaders gathered to elect new officers and discuss opportunities and challenges in the global business environment in the next two decades.

In his remarks, council chairman Dan Brestle paid tribute to the industry’s diverse, founding icons and noted the similarities between the challenges they faced and overcame compared to industry issues and opportunities that exist today, including government regulation and complexities in global business and digital communications. He urged industry leaders to “… marshal our intrinsic strengths as an industry and work together with our association to tackle those challenges and realize the unprecedented opportunities ahead.”

Council president and CEO Lezlee Westine outlined key council accomplishments in 2010, including preventing the passage of new federal legislation, working to harmonize global regulations and representing the industry’s interests before Chinese officials. Westine also gave an overview of goals for the coming year.

Keynote speaker Joshua Cooper Ramo, called one of China’s leading foreign-born scholars by the World Economic Forum and an award-winning journalist and China analyst for NBC News during the 2008 Olympic Games, noted the “constant and persistent disruption” in the world today and challenged attendees to view an increasingly complex and wired world with a broader perspective.

The meeting’s general session also featured a CEO panel with industry leaders E. Scott Beattie, president and CEO, Elizabeth Arden; Thia Breen, president, North America, The Estée Lauder Companies; and Stefano Curti, president, J & J Consumer Products Company Beauty, who reflected on Ramo's insights and shared how their companies are navigating the current business environment.

On March 2, keynote speaker Jim Carroll, a world-renowned futurist and trends expert, addressed attendees during the meeting’s second general session. For more than 20 years, Carroll has been studying what makes companies “relentlessly creative” and has guided many of these companies through turbulent waters to achieve success. Business Week recently named Carroll one of only four sources of exceptional insight on innovation and creativity.

Also during the second general session, Art Spiro, Elizabeth Arden, moderated a discussion panel with beauty editors Ying Chu of Marie Claire, Emily Dougherty of Elle, Amy Keller Laird of Allure and Genevieve Monsma of More, who will share their views on the latest trends in beauty and personal care, men's grooming products and fashion.

In addition to Brestle, who was re-elected as chairman, the council's elections also saw William Gentner, Kao Brands; Heidi Manheimer, Shiseido Cosmetics (USA); and Ed Shirley, Procter & Gamble elected as vice chairs; Linda Marshall, Elysee Scientific Cosmetics, elected to secretary; and Scott Beattie, Elizabeth Arden, elected to treasurer.

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