Michelle Lee has built a career around seeing where culture is headed next. From Editor-in-Chief of Allure and Nylon to a global leadership role at Netflix and now CMO of Landing International and K Beauty World, her path is anything but conventional. Michelle opens up about feeling intimidated when she first reached the top ranks of publishing, learning to take bigger creative risks, and recognizing early that the traditional media model was about to radically change.

Together with Jodi and guest co-host Lindy Firstenberg, Michelle explores what the modern beauty experience actually looks like as the lines between beauty, health and wellness disappear. They dig into personalization, the growing “pharmification” of beauty and wellness, and what Michelle learned overseeing global editorial and publishing at Netflix, including watching Squid Game become a worldwide phenomenon and seeing firsthand how culture can travel across borders.

Michelle also gets candid about stepping away from an intense full-time executive career, building a fractional career through relationships and side hustles, and the three résumé bullet points she believes everyone should be intentionally building. Then the conversation turns to K-beauty: why its first U.S. wave faded, how TikTok Shop and Amazon helped fuel its resurgence, and why succeeding in the U.S. requires far more than simply bringing a successful international brand stateside. It’s a conversation about reinvention, cultural fluency and building a career and a brand that’s ready for what comes next.

This episode is presented by Beauty Connect.

Michael Marcano, CMO of ZO Skin Health, didn’t follow the traditional path to the C-suite. He grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, dreaming of becoming a doctor, worked full-time while finishing college, and even auditioned for American Idol…twice…before finding his way into the beauty industry. His career story is a lesson in curiosity, persistence and being willing to pursue opportunities even when you don’t have the expected credentials.

Michael shares how he deliberately built his career by raising his hand, asking successful colleagues to teach him, telling people where he wanted to go, and cultivating both mentors and sponsors. That approach helped him break into marketing at L’Oréal and ultimately build a 13-year career at The Estée Lauder Companies. His advice is refreshingly actionable: working hard matters, but you also have to advocate for yourself—and sometimes a move that looks lateral or even backward can lead somewhere much bigger.

Now at ZO Skin Health, Michael is applying those lessons to an entirely different challenge: taking a respected professional skincare brand with deep physician credibility and building greater consumer awareness. He and Jodi explore the power of the provider voice, why skincare brands need to talk about the often-overlooked “during” between the before and after, and what it takes to lead a team through transformation. It’s a candid conversation about ambition, career reinvention, leadership and what can happen when you stop waiting for the next opportunity and start actively creating it.

This episode is presented by Beauty Connect.

What happens when you stop accepting industry rules as fact and start asking, "Why not?"

On Episode 313 of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Personal Day CEO Amanda Domaleczny and Co-Founder Dan Reich join Jodi Katz for a conversation about entrepreneurship, innovation, and building brands that challenge conventional thinking.

Amanda shares how a career spanning operations, product development, sales, and retail strategy shaped her approach to leadership, while Dan reflects on his journey from technology entrepreneur to beauty founder and the lessons he's learned building multiple high-growth brands.

Together, they discuss the importance of questioning assumptions, the power of surrounding yourself with exceptional people, and why some of the most meaningful opportunities come from being willing to take risks that others won't.

They also explore the vision behind Personal Day and how the brand is working to reimagine the acne category by combining science, emotional connection, and a more approachable consumer experience.

It's a thoughtful conversation about leadership, resilience, entrepreneurship, and the belief that sometimes the best path forward is the one that hasn't been tried before.

Thank you to our partner CEW. If you're looking to accelerate your career and expand your network, visit CEW.org and use code WBMB20 for 20% off your first year of membership.