# Katerina (Katina) Mountanos

> Katerina (Katina) Mountanos is the founder and CEO of Kosterina, a Greek olive oil and Mediterranean lifestyle brand. A Greek-American raised on Long Island with frequent visits to Koroni, she studied at NYU Stern and Harvard Business School, co-founded workplace manicure company Manicube, and held roles at Citigroup, L’Oréal, Quidsi, Jet and Walmart before making Kosterina her full-time work in 2020.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Kosterina
- **Organizations:** Kosterina, Manicube, Citigroup, L’Oréal, Quidsi, Amazon, Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas, Jet.com, Walmart
- **Nationality:** Greek-American (self-described)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, New York University, Stern School of Business, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Manicube, acquired by Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas in 2015., Built BeautyBar.com at Quidsi and Amazon., Led consumer-brand incubation at Walmart eCommerce.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Began in corporate investment banking at Citigroup, working in New York and London.
- **—** — After her MBA, joined L’Oréal as a marketing manager focused on brand and product innovation.
- **2010** — Joined Quidsi; worked on Soap.com and launched BeautyBar.com, which she managed through Quidsi’s acquisition by Amazon.
- **2012** — Co-founded Manicube with Elizabeth (Liz) Whitman, bringing manicure services to corporate offices.
- **2015** — Manicube was acquired by Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas in November; she subsequently co-led Red Door to Door.
- **2016** — Joined Jet.com as a general manager before its acquisition by Walmart; Kosterina began as a passion project around this period.
- **—** — Led Walmart eCommerce’s internal consumer-brand incubation group, including work on Allswell.
- **2019-2020** — Left her corporate role around Christmas 2019 and made Kosterina her full-time work in early 2020.
- **2020** — Kosterina entered Whole Foods, initially in three regions.
- **2023** — Received the inaugural Daughters of Penelope Spirit of Penelope Award on March 18.
- **2024** — Kosterina announced a launch in more than 600 Target stores in September; Mountanos completed the New York City Marathon in November carrying the Greek flag.
- **2026** — Published Extra Virgin Everything on Substack and continued expanding Kosterina’s product partnerships.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Manicube, acquired by Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas in 2015.
- Built BeautyBar.com at Quidsi and Amazon.
- Led consumer-brand incubation at Walmart eCommerce.
- Built Kosterina from an early side project into a brand sold by national retailers including Whole Foods and Target.
- Received the inaugural Spirit of Penelope Award in March 2023.
- Completed the 2024 New York City Marathon carrying the Greek flag.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Kosterina and B.T.R Nation announced a Lemon Olive Oil Cake PROTEIN+ Bar collaboration, reported September 18.
- **2026-07** — Published Where to Go in Greece in her Extra Virgin Everything newsletter on July 26.
- **2026-01** — Appeared on the Evolve to Perform Podcast in an episode published January 16, discussing olive oil, running a business and motherhood.

## Links

- Website: https://www.kosterina.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katinamountanos
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katinamountanos/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@extravirginmama

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/katina-mountanos
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26