Lisa Gandolfi is Inolex's VP, Product and Marketing, responsible for building the company's global brand and positioning its innovative product portfolio of sustainable ingredients for growth in beauty care markets worldwide. Prior to joining Inolex, Lisa held Marketing and Research & Development management roles at Clariant and Johnson & Johnson.
Perspective
My high school chemistry teacher had a bumper sticker that said, “What in the world isn’t chemistry?”. That simple phrase changed my life. I realized that all around me was chemistry and I started looking at the world through those eyes. I love being part of a discipline that touches everything – natural or manmade – in our world.
The beauty industry has seen major shifts in recent years, particularly the consumer demand for products that bring wellness to our daily lives. Developing natural ingredients is critical to delivering on that change. New generations of consumers have grown up in a world focused on environmental care and self-care. In parallel, today’s rising scientists are committed to delivering conscious science. At Inolex, that shift to conscious science is core to how we approach chemistry, which I find incredibly energizing and exciting.
I am most inspired when an assortment of diverse thoughts combines to deliver a common goal. I enjoy setting the stage for a team of people who think creatively and independently, and then watching them collaborate and iterate to create an outcome that is bigger and better than the sum of its parts.
I’m fascinated by the idea that real people make the things that we use every day—the simple things that we use without thinking about how they got here. I had a goal when I was young that I wanted to “make shampoo”. I also enjoy the complicated nature of people, in particular, understanding what drives their decisions and how you can influence those decisions. This combination of interests has guided me to the intersection of science and marketing, where both aspects are critical to a product’s success.