# Aurelian Lis

> Aurelian Lis is the Global CEO of Dermalogica, the professional skin-care brand owned by Unilever Prestige. A self-described 'nerdy physicist with a love for cosmetics,' he took the top job in January 2016 after quadrupling Benefit Cosmetics' Americas business to roughly $500 million as its general manager. Trained in physics at Oxford and business at INSEAD, Lis built and sold his own customized skincare company before bringing a science-meets-emotion philosophy and a habit of relentless iteration to one of the world's leading professional skincare houses.

- **Role:** Global Chief Executive Officer at Dermalogica
- **Organizations:** Dermalogica, Unilever Prestige, Benefit Cosmetics, PRESCRIBEDsolutions, dELiA*s Corp., Unilever PLC
- **Nationality:** British (German heritage)
- **Education:** First-class honours, Physics, St. Peter's College, University of Oxford, MBA with distinction, INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France)
- **Known for:** Quadrupled Benefit Cosmetics' Americas business to approximately $500 million in sales, Led the launch of They're Real mascara, which became the leading prestige mascara in the US, Expanded Benefit's brow services to roughly 1,000 locations

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked at Unilever PLC in strategic, operational and sales roles across brands including Elizabeth Arden, Cerruti and Lagerfeld
- **Late 1990s** — Chief Operating Officer of Commerce at dELiA*s Corp., overseeing five e-commerce sites during a $100M IPO
- **Founder era** — Co-founded and led PRESCRIBEDsolutions, a customized skincare line distributed through dermatologists and plastic surgeons
- **2009** — PRESCRIBEDsolutions acquired by a unit of Ferndale Pharma Group
- **2010-2015** — General Manager of the Americas at Benefit Cosmetics (LVMH); quadrupled the business to roughly $500M
- **2016** — Appointed Global CEO of Dermalogica, succeeding Stephen Kurland

## Achievements

- Quadrupled Benefit Cosmetics' Americas business to approximately $500 million in sales
- Led the launch of They're Real mascara, which became the leading prestige mascara in the US
- Expanded Benefit's brow services to roughly 1,000 locations
- Founded and successfully sold PRESCRIBEDsolutions, a customized medical skincare company
- Appointed Global CEO of Dermalogica in January 2016
- Increased Dermalogica's pace of major product innovation from one or two to at least four launches per year
- Introduced simultaneous UK and US product launches based on therapist feedback
- Pioneered the 'Facefit' express treatment concept to bring theatre to retail

## Latest updates

- **2024-04** — Featured speaker at the WWD Beauty CEO Summit, representing Dermalogica as Global CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://dermalogica.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aurelianlis

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aurelian-lis
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-25