The 2025 Speakers
CHRIS SANDERSON
Co-Founder, The Future Laboratory
Christopher is co-founder of The Future Laboratory, where he is responsible for delivering the company‘s extensive global roster of conferences, media events, and Trend Briefings, which he presents in London, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, and around the world.
Clients who have booked one of his inspirational keynotes include luxury group Kering, The European Travel Commission, Retail Week, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, Chanel, Harrods, Aldo, H&M, General Motors, BBDO, Design Hotels, Condé Nast Media, and Omnicom.
Chris presented Channel 4 TV’s five-part series Home of the Future and is a SuperBoard member of The British Fashion Council’s Fashion Trust.
MERIDITH ROJAS
CMO, MCoBeauty
Meridith Rojas is an award-winning digital entrepreneur, marketing leader, author, and keynote speaker. Currently the CMO for VidaCorp in the US, she oversees the #1 Australian luxe-for-less beauty brand, MCoBeauty, clean beauty brand Nude by Nature, and skincare brand esmi. At MCoBeauty, she has driven unprecedented growth, solidifying its position as the #4 mass beauty brand in the US through innovative campaigns, influencer collaborations, and retail partnerships. Under Meridith’s leadership, the brand is launching into Target in February, with a major campaign featuring Bethenny Frankel, Campbell and Jett Puckett, and JVKE.
Previously, Meridith served as Chief Brand Officer at Captiv8 and Global Head of Entertainment and Creator Marketing at Logitech, where she developed groundbreaking talent partnerships and launched the Song Breaker Awards.
A frequent keynote speaker and advocate for creators, she’s earned recognition and honors from Variety’s Power of Women Impact Report, DE&I awards, and has held a 2023 Clios jury role.
CHRIS RINSCH
Co-Founder + President, Timeline
Chris Rinsch is co-founder and President of Timeline. For more than two decades, he has been an innovator in the life sciences arena. Before founding Timeline in 2007, he worked in venture capital investing in pioneering life sciences companies in the nutrition space and in biotechnology. Chris has authored original publications in leading scientific journals, including Nature Medicine, JAMA Network Open, and others, for his research on healthy aging, Urolithin A, and mitochondrial health. He is also an inventor of several global patents. Chris holds a master of business administration degree from INSEAD, a PhD in cell and molecular biology from the University of Lausanne, a master of science degree in biomedical engineering from UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Harvey Mudd College.
DR. POONAM DESAI
Founder, Longevity Place
Dr. Poonam Desai is a double board-certified and double fellowship-trained physician specializing in lifestyle medicine. A renowned celebrity physician, TEDx speaker, and founder of Longevity Place, Poonami leads a premier clinic in New York that integrates cutting-edge science with personalized medicine to optimize health and promote longevity. Her interests span gut health, hormone health, and toxin-free living, offering concierge-level care tailored to each individual.
Dr. Desai has held leadership roles as Medical Director at NEXT|HEALTH and as a physician at Wild Health, two renowned longevity clinics. She is also an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical School.
Combining evidence-based medicine with innovative therapies such as genetic testing, precision nutrition, and fitness optimization, Poonam is recognized for her expertise in disease prevention, anti-aging, and health optimization. She works with high-profile clients worldwide to help them achieve their health goals.
MATTHEW MALIN
Founder, MALIN+GOETZ
Matthew Malin co-founded MALIN+GOETZ in 2004 with a vision to uncomplicate skincare. With an extensive background in the beauty industry, he held key roles in buying, sales, and brand development, shaping the success of several globally recognized names before launching his own. His deep industry experience, combined with his own struggles with sensitive skin, led him to develop skincare that prioritizes simplicity and performance. Alongside his partner Andrew Goetz, they launched the brand with six essential products designed for all skin types and genders. More than two decades later, MALIN+GOETZ has evolved into a globally recognized brand with apothecaries in cities from NYC to Shanghai, known for its thoughtful formulations and elevated everyday essentials.
SERGIO TACHE
Founder + CEO, Dossier
Sergio Tache is the Founder & CEO of Dossier, a perfume house for the next generation, where French craftsmanship meets innovation, enabling universal access and self-expression for the many. With Dossier, Sergio helps to set a new standard within the industry––removing pretenses, like the designer brand name tax and use of elitist marketing practices that drive up luxury fragrance prices.
Sergio launched the company with its now-hero collection of Dossier Impressions, a collection of designer-inspired fragrances available for 70% to 85% less. With their success, he leveraged the company’s learnings to develop Dossier Originals (in-house exclusive fragrances) and Dossier Home (diffusers and candles with scents from customer-favorite Impressions). As of 2024, Tache has successfully helped the company expand outside of the US to Mexico, Canada, and Australia and acquired Amazon and Walmart as retail partners.
DAVID OLSEN
CEO, RMS Beauty
David is a seasoned senior leader with 25 years of experience in the digital retail and brand space. Before joining Highlander Partners in 2019, he served as the CEO of Cos Bar, a private equity-backed beauty retailer. Earlier in his career, David held the role of Global Vice President at Net-A-Porter and Mr. Porter, where he was instrumental in launching their beauty and grooming businesses, driving triple-digit annual growth. He also founded DermTeam, an e-commerce cosmeceutical business that he later sold to DermStore. At DermStore, David led business development, buying, and operations until its acquisition by Target in 2012.
As Managing Director at Highlander Partners, David evaluated numerous brands before identifying and investing in RMS Beauty, where he now serves as CEO. During his tenure, he supported other portfolio companies, including playing a key role in the growth and sale of Bettera Brands, where he served as EVP of Sales during the pandemic.
NADINE PERNODET, PH.D.
Senior Vice President, The Estée Lauder Companies
Dr. Nadine Pernodet is Senior Vice President leading the Global Bioscience Group composed of skin research and technologies/ingredients groups including fermentation. She leads the academic collaboration network for The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), delivering the strategy that fuels the ELC brands portfolio (Estee Lauder, La Mer, Clinique)). Nadine is also the lead scientist for the Estée Lauder brand, serving as its scientific advisor, innovator, and spokesperson.
Nadine joined ELC in 2007 where she has created an extensive track record of product innovation that has helped to transform the beauty industry, fueling iconic hero products as well as new products for the company. She has created new scientific insights that have driven efficacious breakthrough ingredients, new claims, concepts, and scientific communications, and credentialing for global skincare launches.
Nadine has been at the forefront of research in epigenetics, longevity, circadian rhythm, sirtuins, and systems biology. She has published over 80 scientific publications/journal chapters and been co-inventor on 33 patent families, with over 200 worldwide granted patents.
RYAN BABENZIEN
Founder + CEO, Jolie Skin Co.
Ryan is a two-time founder in the beauty and footwear sectors. He is CEO of Jolie Skin Co.—a beauty wellness brand that addresses the purity of water for better skin, hair, and well-being— that he founded in 2021. He also founded GREATS, the first digitally native footwear brand in 2014, which he sold to Steve Madden in 2019. Ryan is an avid advisor, investor, and thought leader in the ecommerce space, serving as a board advisor to AI marketing platform Attentive Mobile and Try Now, a “try before you buy” e-commerce platform. Ryan is a board member of Imogene & Willie and Hoek Home and has been recognized or featured in numerous publications and media outlets including Forbes, Techcrunch, Highsnobiety, Hypebeast, Shoptalk, Footwear News, and WWD, among others. In 2018, Ryan was recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of the class of 2018.