Personal Care & Cosmetics Executive Search Expertise
At Kelham Partners, we specialise in retained executive search for companies manufacturing and distributing personal care and cosmetic ingredients. We help raw material suppliers, formulation specialists, and functional ingredient innovators build leadership teams that combine technical credibility, brand awareness, and global commercial impact.
Our clients range from multinational ingredient groups and application-focused formulators to PE-backed scale-ups developing cutting-edge bioactives, emulsifiers, and sensorial enhancers. Whether your focus is skin care, hair care, sun care, or active beauty, we find leaders who speak the language of both science and market success.
Who We Support
We partner with companies involved in
- Active ingredients
Peptides, plant extracts, biotech actives, anti-ageing, hydration - Functional ingredients
Emulsifiers, rheology modifiers, surfactants, film formers, conditioners - Sensory & performance enhancers
Silicones, esters, emollients, polymers - Preservatives & stabilisers
Natural, synthetic, paraben-free - Sustainable & clean beauty materials
Biotech ingredients, upcycled extracts, biodegradable alternatives - Contract manufacturers and formulation partners
CDMOs, toll formulators, application labs
We understand the interface between science, regulation, and branding that makes this sector so commercially dynamic and technically specialised.
Typical Roles We Recruit
We specialise in international recruitment across
- Commercial
Regional Sales Directors, BU Heads, Global KAMs, Sales and Key Account Managers, Marketing & Category Leads - R&D & Applications
Heads of Formulation, Innovation Managers, Technical Service Directors - Regulatory & Compliance
Global RA Heads, Product Safety, Cosmetics Regulatory Affairs - Operations & Supply Chain
Site Directors, Procurement Leaders, Demand Planning Heads - Executive Leadership
Division MDs, General Managers, VP Commercial, CMO, CTO
From Niche Innovators to Global Ingredient Leaders
The personal care sector demands chemistry expertise, brand sensitivity, and speed to market. Whether you’re launching new actives in APAC, building a clean beauty platform in EMEA, or expanding technical support into North America, we understand what’s at stake.
As specialist recruiters in personal care ingredients, we bring global reach and deep domain knowledge to every search, helping you access the best leadership talent, before your competitors do.
Case Study
Global Head of Marketing – Cosmetic Actives Supplier
Client
A France-based manufacturer of premium cosmetic active ingredients supplying into top-tier skin care and dermocosmetic brands globally.
Brief
Hire a Global Head of Marketing to reposition the brand, manage product category strategy, and lead new launches across Europe, the US, and Asia.
Challenges
- Needed a candidate with both technical understanding of cosmetic actives and brand storytelling capability
- Required experience managing cross-functional teams (R&D, regulatory, commercial)
- Role was hybrid but involved extensive global travel and direct board interaction
Our Approach
We conducted a retained search across Europe and North America targeting professionals from personal care ingredient suppliers, formulation labs, and branded skincare product companies with strong upstream experience.
Outcome
The successful hire joined from a competing bioactives firm with deep industry relationships and repositioned the client’s product portfolio within 6 months. A new anti-ageing active launched under their leadership became the brand’s highest-grossing SKU in under a year.
Hiring into personal care or cosmetic ingredients?
Let’s connect and find the talent who can combine science, brand, and global reach.
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