On Wednesday, August 6, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), in partnership with Pinterest, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and Clinique, hosted the third-annual Black Women Thriving event on Martha’s Vineyard.
More than 130 influential Black women leaders and tastemakers came together for an evening of powerful conversation, immersive brand experiences, and community connection celebrating their creativity, joy, and leadership across beauty, health, media, business, and beyond.
A Night of Powerful Conversations
The evening featured two insightful conversations moderated by CNN anchors Abby Phillip and Laura Coates, centering the beauty, health, and wellness journeys of Black women.
In the first panel, moderated by Abby Phillip, speakers explored the importance of designing products, platforms, brands, and communities with Black women at the center—not on the margins. Speakers included:
- Susan Akkad, SVP, Local and Cultural Innovation, ELC highlighted how ELC’s Local and Cultural Innovation Center of Excellence supports our portfolio of brands to embed insights and cultural relevancy across the product development and creative process to meet the unique needs of global consumers. She pointed to products like Clinique’s Smart Repair Clinical Wrinkle Correcting Serum and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics’ Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadow Sticks as great examples of this work.
- Doniel Sutton, Chief People Officer, Pinterest spoke about the trends shaping how Black women lead, connect, and create online and in the workplace. She also spotlighted how Pinterest emphasizes inclusive design both in the workplace and on their platform.
- Julee Wilson, Editor at Large, Cosmopolitan shared the beauty and wellness topics resonating most with her readers and highlighted the brands she believes are getting it right—including Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, a staple in her own makeup bag.
Together, they underscored the importance of rewriting the narrative on aging—embracing it as a time of evolution, growth, and possibility.
“Beauty is anthropology. To truly serve Black women, we must understand the science of our skin, the aesthetics of our tones, and the culture of our beauty,” said Susan Akkad.
The second conversation was fireside chat moderated by Laura Coates, featuring Dr. Sharon Malone, OB/GYN, bestselling author of Grown Woman Talk, and Chief Medical Advisor at Alloy Women’s Health.
The discussion centered on midlife women’s health —specifically perimenopause and menopause —and the often-unspoken challenges Black women encounter in navigating care. Together, they explored how Black women can advocate for better treatment and reclaim agency within systems that weren’t designed for them.
“My message to Black women—who start earlier, suffer longer, and more severely—is don’t suffer. Don’t suffer because you don’t get a medal at the end of the menopause marathon. We don’t have people to advocate for us, so you’ve got to advocate for yourself,” said Dr. Sharon Malone.