Prequel Skin is signaling its ambitions to become a major force in dermatologist-developed skin care with the appointment of veteran beauty executives Nathalie Kristo as CEO and Toral Patel as chief marketing officer, adding decades of global brand-building expertise to fuel its next phase of growth.
Founded by board-certified dermatologist Samantha Ellis, MD, Prequel has quickly carved out a niche by combining clinically backed formulations with educational, dermatologist-led content and accessible pricing. The new executive appointments position the fast-growing brand to scale its retail presence, marketing and operations while maintaining the clinical credibility that has driven its rapid rise.
Kristo brings more than 25 years of beauty leadership experience, including senior roles at L'Oréal, where she served as senior vice president of marketing for L'Oréal Paris USA and later global brand president of NYX Professional Makeup. Following L'Oréal's acquisition of NYX, she helped transform the digitally native brand into one of the industry's largest global makeup franchises before serving as CEO of Huda Beauty, where she helped expand both Huda Beauty and Kayali into internationally recognized brands.
As CEO, Kristo will oversee Prequel's overall growth strategy, with an emphasis on scaling the business while preserving the dermatologist-first positioning that differentiates the brand in an increasingly crowded skin care market.
Joining her is Toral Patel, who assumes the role of chief marketing officer overseeing marketing, creative and e-commerce. Patel most recently led marketing and e-commerce at Kopari Beauty, helping establish the brand as a leading prestige player at Ulta Beauty. Her previous experience includes marketing leadership positions at The Estée Lauder Companies and L'Oréal, giving Prequel additional expertise across prestige, mass and omnichannel beauty.
The appointments create an all-female executive leadership team combining Ellis' dermatological expertise with proven experience building high-growth global beauty brands. The move reflects a broader trend across the skin care industry as founder-led brands increasingly recruit seasoned executives to transition from breakout success to sustainable long-term growth.
As consumer demand continues to shift toward science-backed, dermatologist-developed skin care, Prequel appears poised to capitalize on the growing intersection of clinical credibility, educational content and accessible prestige pricing. With leadership experienced in scaling brands across retail, digital commerce and international markets, the company is positioning itself to compete more aggressively in one of beauty's fastest-growing categories.
