Before getting her start at Procter & Gamble as an intern in 2002, beauty executive Stephanie Headley was a math teacher.
“I went to the University of Richmond to study mathematics and secondary education,” said the 2025 CEW Achiever Award honoree, who grew up in Kilmarnock, Va. “My plan, at that point in life, was to be a high school math teacher.”
Though her plan may have pivoted — she soon after embarked on a manufacturing operations role at Philip Morris, obtained her MBA and then made her way to P&G — her passion for STEM, among other learnings from her time in the classroom, have remained.
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“The ability to share ideas; to communicate effectively, to build confidence in others that they, too, can be successful — those are all techniques that I still apply as I think about my organization today,” said Headley, who is now three years into her tenure as senior vice president of global Olay and North American skin care at P&G Beauty.
After working on Febreze and home care through her first few years at P&G, Headley entered the company’s beauty arm via Herbal Essences in the 2010s before making her way to Olay — at first in body care, then skin care — a few years later.
“I actually didn’t know all along that beauty was going to be a great fit for me,” Headley said. “I grew up in a small community; I didn’t know about Procter & Gamble, I didn’t know these types of roles existed, but I was passionate — even from a young age — about leading, and so that turned into a career.”
Since she took up the helm at Olay, the 1952-founded brand has inaugurated some of its largest innovations to date. In 2023 the brand launched its skin-boosting Super Serum, packed with five actives including niacinamide and vitamin C and has been spun into a franchise featuring an eye serum and a facial moisturizer, too. Last year, Olay introduced Cleansing Melts, water-activated, dissolving cleanser squares that garnered the website’s longest waitlist at more than 30,000, and ranked as the number-one new facial cleanser in mass skin care in 2024.
“Consumers today have more access to more brands and products than ever before — what’s been important for the Olay team is staying grounded in who we are,” said Headley, adding that a focus on offering patented, science-first innovations that are not just effective — but accessible — “is the difference-maker.”
Being able to deliver on these fronts, though, starts with a strong team — and a strong leader.
“Women leaders can tend not to lean into the success, and what I mean by that is, some counterparts may not have all of the credentials or all of the data, but they lean into the success because they believe in their ability to get something done,” Headley said. “You have to lean into the ‘yes’ — even if you may not have all of the experience, or all of the data — when you believe that you can achieve something more, you can inspire others, too, to come alongside you.”
This ripple effect has been a key motivator for Headley — from the classroom to corporate.