Women in Aesthetics: Noelle Denlinger, ZO Skin Health, Inc.

Noelle Denlinger is the epitome of a self-made woman. After college, she worked in retail and was ultimately recruited to work in sales at L’Oreal. She transitioned to marketing, working her way up to Director of Marketing for SkinCeuticals. While working full time at L’Oreal, she earned her MBA in Economics from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

In 2015, she left L’Oreal for Orange County, CA. ZO Skin Health in Irvine, CA was searching for a Vice President of Marketing; it was a perfect fit.

In 2018 she moved back to New York to open the brand’s first East Coast headquarters and became the company’s first Chief Commercial Officer.

Who were some of your mentors?

Noelle: I worked for Brenda Wu, currently CEO and President of Topix Brands, on several different brands over the course of my career. Her insights and lessons helped shape my ability to think more strategically, work more effectively, and constantly challenge myself and my team to be better and to do better.

Another manager who had a strong impact on me and my career was Andre Branch. He was smart and strategic, but the most important lesson I learned from him was to appreciate everyone’s talents and leverage their strengths. Finding what people are good at and helping them do it even better rather than focusing on their weaknesses helped mold me into a stronger manager.

Mark Williams, JD, ZO Skin Health’s CEO, is a great leader. Being from outside of the beauty and aesthetics industry, he consistently challenges us to think differently. Many of us at ZO have many years of experience in the aesthetics industry but being able to approach things with fresh eyes and not be overly concerned with continuing “business as usual” has helped me grow personally and professionally. Under his direction, our mindset shift as a company has produced tremendous results. His “people-first” mentality and commitment to doing the right thing for the team and for our customers is has not only contributed to our success as a business but also challenges us to be better leaders and people.

As partners and team members at ZO, Nancy Marchain, Chief Domestic Sales Officer, and Renee Pedroza, Senior VP of Global Marketing, have helped me to grow both personally and professionally. Nancy is always willing to provide advice on her approach to management and coaching whenever I or anyone else needs it. Renee has been my right hand for nearly seven years, helping me to build out our team and the company to continue to deliver great products with extraordinary results.

How did you get into aesthetics?

Noelle: I have always loved beauty, and skincare specifically. I spent the majority of my career in the beauty industry and had the opportunity to move to a brand in the aesthetic market, focusing on products that were sold to physicians. I was intrigued by this concept as someone who had previously shopped at department stores and later, at Sephora. What attracted me to ZO Skin Health was the brand’s strong physician-centric approach led by Dr. Zein Obagi, of ensuring that patients were not simply at the mall or the drugstore trying to find what works through trial and error. Rather, they were engaging in a meaningful relationship with their skincare provider to ensure successful outcomes using an optimal combination of the right products and in-office procedures.

How would your colleagues describe your management style?

Noelle: I hope they would describe my style as collaborative. I enjoy being very involved in projects and working together to come up with a holistic view of our initiatives, as well as what the impact could be to the organization overall. I think they would say that I am hard-working and 100 percent dedicated to the company’s success, which may account for why I drive myself and my team hard every day.

I have tried very hard in my career to focus on fewer, bigger and better projects, evaluating each based on the impact on revenue, profit, and resources and tackling the ones that will have the highest impact on the organization vs. trying to accomplish everything but in a less effective way.

In that vein, I think my team understands that consistency is important to me. Being able to do less but to do it well, and do it consistently as well as dependably, is far more critical to success than starting a project but not following up or doing something great only one time.

What advice do you have for women who are rising stars?

Noelle: You are responsible for your own path; make sure you set your own boundaries. People will take from you whatever you will give, so be clear on what is and isn’t feasible to accomplish. There will be many times when board meetings, management meetings, or other big projects will require that you cancel dinner plans, skip the gym, or send the kids to the babysitter while you work all night or all weekend. Be available for key moments, and make sure you have time for yourself and your family to do what you need to as a person. You will be happier, healthier and your boss and company will respect you more for it.

Name a quote or quotes that best describe your philosophy

Noelle: ”Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.” - Sarah Blakely, SPANX Founder