Winner
Esi Eggleston Bracy
Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, Unilever
This Unilever Executive’s CROWNing Achievement is Leading Change Far Beyond the Beauty Business
Years before her promotion to Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Unilever in January 2024, Esi Eggleston Bracey had been disrupting the global cosmetics industry to empower women. She began driving change through brands early in her career, leading Covergirl’s pioneering ‘real beauty’ campaigns with then – emerging talents like Queen Latifah, Pink, Ellen and Janelle Monáe. In 2019, as the architect for Dove’s founding of the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition — a partnership with National Urban League, Color of Change, and Western Center on Law & Poverty — she worked with California state legislators to create the CROWN Act. The law prohibits race-based hair discrimination: the denial of educational or employment opportunities due to hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists, or bantu knots. Now responsible for the entire Beauty & Personal Care portfolio for Unilever North America, she continues to support research and advocacy for the law, currently established in 24 states and counting.
By Katy Brennan
