Ulta Beauty taps Samsung executive to head marketing

Ultra Beauty has filled a key position in its C-suite.

The beauty giant said in a post on its LinkedIn page that Michelle Crossan-Matos has joined the executive team as its chief marketing officer. The appointment was effective on January 17.

In the role, Crossan-Matos will lead an expansive roster of marketing and communications functions that work “to engage our guests, share our stories and unlock new, beautiful possibilities,” the company wrote. Crossan-Matos will oversee all integrated marketing, loyalty, creative operations, store design, public relations, consumer insights and UB Media, the company’s retail media network.

“As a beauty enthusiast myself, I could not be more excited to bring Ulta Beauty’s mission to life and tap even further into the superpowers of this amazing category,” Crossan-Matos said on the LinkedIn post.

Crossan-Matos joins Ulta from Samsung Electronics America, where she spend five years, most recently serving as senior VP, chief marketing, citizenship & communications officer. Prior to that, she held various leadership roles with Samsung, Vertu and Procter & Gamble, where she gained extensive experience in beauty and personal care, including serving as the global prestige team leader of brand operations and as global brand manager of celebrity fragrances.

At Ulta, Crossan-Matos succeeds Shelley Haus, who died in June after a battle with cancer. She had served as the company’s chief marketing officer since 2019.

“Shelley was a force whose passion and compassion were equally matched,” Ulta said on its LinkedIn page at the time. “She was an innovative marketer, creative storyteller and a people-first leader who saw beautiful possibilities in everything and everyone.”

In December, Ulta reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, revenue and comparable sales as shoppers kept spending on beauty despite higher prices. Revenue rose 17.2% to $2.3 billion, and net income rose 27.5% to $274.6 million in the quarter (ended Oct. 29).

[Read More: Ulta soars in Q3 amid ‘sustained resilience” of beauty category; comp sales jump]

During the first nine months of fiscal 2022, Ulta opened 35 new stores, relocated 11 locations and remodeled eight stores. It operated 1,343 stores at the end of its third quarter.