For Carrie Gross, confidence is key.
Whether it be starting her career, developing a business, building a family or staying true to herself, confidence has been Gross’ guiding light, ultimately leading her to this year’s CEW Achiever Awards.
She first recognized her passion for spreading confidence when she began her career in fashion as a merchandising director: “Being in fashion and helping [clients] with their wardrobe and self-confidence and their life, there was so much creativity to it and so much joy,” said Gross.
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After marrying her husband Dr. Dennis Gross, she went on to bring this same level of creativity, joy and confidence to their skin care brand. Furthermore, it was her unwavering belief in the efficacy of the products Dennis Gross was creating, particularly the now bestselling alpha beta peel pads, that actually led to starting the skin care brand.
Now, 25 years later, it has stood the test of time, even when others had their doubts. That included Dennis Gross, who had his concerns after a “Sex and the City” episode aired in which Samantha Jones famously underwent an extra strong peel that resulted in her having to hide her face at best friend Carrie Bradshaw’s party.
“I really felt like ‘Sex and the City’ was real life….That was what was really happening. People were going for aggressive peels, and their faces were literally falling off, and they were coming to Dennis’ practice asking him for help,” Gross recalled. “When that episode aired, it was devastating to Dennis. He’s like, ‘Oh, we’re finished.’ I’m like, ‘No, this is good. Everybody wants to talk about it.’”
She was right and in 2023, DDG Skincare Holdings, the owner of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, was acquired by Shiseido for an undisclosed sum. At the time of the deal, the brand was on track to surpass $300 million in retail sales.
In addition to her confidence and positivity in difficult situations, Gross never approached the category with a trend or financial focus. Instead, she doubled down on products and relationships that worked.
“I never, ever led with [the financial success] conversation. It was always super important to me for many, many reasons…but I never wanted to lead with it. I never wanted to lead with a transactional approach. Whether I was with a client or with a business partner, I was focused on our mutual success, and accomplishing goals,” she said. “I always got out of bed every morning with a start-up mentality. Even at 25 years, I come to work very excited to make business happen, but I don’t lead with a transactional mindset, because this industry, the success of it is all based on relationships.”
Now with dupes, new skin care brands popping up and influencers abound, Gross’ faith in the brand has never faltered, even as she looks to the future of the category.
“There’s a lot of confusion. The good thing is that [consumers are] doing their research, and I feel like we’re moving a little bit,” she said, adding that she believes this to be a positive for the Dr. Dennis Gross brand, particularly as it expands globally. “The conversation really is about having skin health, rather than just beauty. I’m excited about that, and I think that that’s working for us in every way possible because we’ve always been talking about our delivery systems.”
While her career is a top priority, Gross’ success isn’t entirely defined by what’s happening at the office. Her personal life is just as important, most notably family dinners and her yoga practice.
“I try very hard to align my free time with my priorities. My priorities are family and health. Throughout all the years of building this business, every single night, I liked to come home and cook an organic, home-cooked meal,” she said. “Second to that is my yoga movement.…I feel like, if I have a flexible body, I’ve got a flexible mind.”
As Gross has been led by confidence, both personally and professionally, she hopes her leadership style and commitment to collaboration will inspire others to do the same.
“I hope that I can encourage women to take risks, but have them be smart and very thoughtful and give them confidence,” she said. “If you lead with with honesty, kindness, gratitude and appreciation for the work that others do, it just comes back to you tenfold.”