# David Suliteanu

> David Suliteanu is the founder and former CEO of Kendo Brands and former CEO of Sephora Americas. After senior roles at Macy’s East and Home Depot, he joined Sephora in 2000, helped reshape its American store business, and later led Kendo during the launch of Fenty Beauty. He left Kendo in 2020 and now shares public recollections of retail leadership, travel, and family.

- **Role:** Retail executive and beauty brand founder
- **Organizations:** Kendo Brands, Inc. (founder and former CEO), Sephora Americas (former CEO), The Home Depot (former group president, diversified businesses), Macy’s East (former vice chairman and director of stores), Bullocks (former store manager)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Stanford University
- **Known for:** Helped establish Sephora’s American retail business after joining in 2000., Developed employee education and independent-brand partnerships at Sephora., Founded Kendo and led it after its separation from Sephora in 2014.

## Career timeline

- **1973** — Participated in the Stanford Axe heist with Tim and Matt Conway.
- **1975** — Stanford University class of 1975.
- **1980s** — Promoted to store manager of Bullocks Northridge, according to his personal recollection.
- **1993-1998** — Vice chairman and director of stores at Macy’s East.
- **1998** — Joined Home Depot as group president of diversified businesses in April.
- **2000** — Joined Sephora Americas as CEO.
- **2001** — Science of Sephora employee training launched in summer, according to his retrospective.
- **2003** — First profitable year for the American Sephora business, according to Suliteanu.
- **2008** — Created Kendo within Sephora, according to BW Confidential’s 2020 succession report.
- **2014** — Kendo became independent from Sephora within LVMH; Suliteanu became CEO.
- **2017** — Led Kendo during Fenty Beauty’s launch with Rihanna.
- **2020** — Left Kendo; Kristin Walcott succeeded him effective December 1.

## Achievements

- Helped establish Sephora’s American retail business after joining in 2000.
- Developed employee education and independent-brand partnerships at Sephora.
- Founded Kendo and led it after its separation from Sephora in 2014.
- Led Kendo during Fenty Beauty’s 2017 launch.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Collaborated with Jenny B. Fine on a retrospective of Sephora’s American development and thanked store employees in a May 19 LinkedIn post.
- **2026-05** — Posted on May 6 about choosing a 2026 Volkswagen Golf R as his daily car.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-suliteanu-bbb175a9

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-suliteanu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09