Linda C. Foltis is a consultant having most recently served (2021 to 2023) as vice president of R&D and regulatory at Function of Beauty where she established thought leadership in personalized hair care. There, she built on the founders’ first-to-market launch of personalized hair and skin care via a portfolio expansion. Her expertise led: nine new retail hair treatment product launches for Target (12/2021); four customized styling SKUs at Target (12/2022); the company's direct to consumer (DTC) expansion into styling with customizable style primer (10/2022); DTC portfolio line extensions – i.e., silicone-free and purple (reduced hair brassiness) treatments; the development of next generation hair ‘repair’ technology for DTC and retail (Q3 2023 launches); the establishment of hair measurement science capabilities and a laboratory salon to support product evaluation and claims; the adoption of ISO standards for natural-derived ingredients; and the strengthening of the R&D, marketing and regulatory interface to support claims development and the recent MOCRA act, among others.
Foltis was previously vice president at Ashland Inc. for 8 years. She is results-oriented, with dual technical and commercial expertise in advancing personal care technology in global specialty ingredients and consumer product markets. Her passion lies in building and directing cohesive high-performing global cross-functional teams. She is seasoned in strategic planning, identifying growth platforms and managing robust portfolios, and excels at relationship-building with customers and alliance partners to accelerate innovation. Her personal care formulation expertise was developed through earlier experience at L'Oreal, Playtex (now Edgewell), Shulton and Unilever. She is an author/co-author on numerous publications and five patents, and holds a master of science degree in chemistry from Seton Hall University and a minor in business administration.