Melis del Rey, the GM of Beauty, Baby, and Technology for Amazon U.S. stores, has always been one to challenge the status quo. “Even in the early days of my career, I’ve championed big ideas and thought about the possibilities, rather than being stopped by limitations,” she says. “My mantra is ‘let’s aim for the north star.’ We’ll figure out how to get there.” This big thinking is key to her success at the e-commerce juggernaut, where she is responsible for all online Amazon Beauty stores in the US. This includes Amazon’s legacy mass beauty, personal care and grooming businesses, the Amazon Premium Beauty Store, which launched in 2013, and more recently the beauty component of the Luxury Store, which launched in 2020 and includes curated luxury brands such as Dr. Barbara Sturm and Clé de Peau Beauté. She also leads technology development for beauty across Amazon.

Amazon is an e-commerce pioneer and a goliath retailer, but that’s just the beginning. It’s also a technology and entertainment powerhouse, and Amazon Beauty ingeniously uses all these tools and platforms to elevate the shopping experience. Loyal Amazon customers rely on the site to conveniently shop for and replenish products. These millions of beauty customers plus new ones use it as a starting point and a search engine to learn more about beauty brands. For this reason, Melis and her team are focused on making Amazon Beauty not only a reliable online resource, but a trusted shopping destination where customers can be inspired and discover new brands and an unlimited selection of products.

Amazon Beauty encompasses thousands of brands, and that number is growing. “It is definitely a large, diverse portfolio of brands, from small independent ones to established, multi-billion-dollar beauty companies,” says Melis, who’s been with Amazon for over nine years, leading Amazon Beauty in the UK before coming to the States. “I’ve been in this role for about 15 months, and we’ve continually been adding fantastic brands such as Lancôme and Shiseido early this year.” Each has their own unique brand store within Amazon Beauty, a world within a world where customers can take a deep dive and learn more about products that can solve their needs.

Customer obsession drives the culture at Amazon. It’s the heart of the company’s philosophy and the ethos behind everything they do. “This is what originally drew me to Amazon,” says Melis. “My team and I focus relentlessly on understanding the needs of our customers, and then working backward from that. We want to make the site easily shoppable, explorable, and engaging with rich content and information.” One of Melis’ proudest achievements came when Amazon won a 2022 CEW Beauty Creators Award as Retailer of the Year. “This was a People’s Choice award, and being recognized by consumers is the most meaningful, rewarding thing we could hope for.”

Technology obviously plays a major part in creating an immersive, interactive, and personalized online shopping experience. “Technology is now synonymous with beauty shopping, and we are 110% committed to driving innovation,” says Melis. “My role at Amazon gives me the opportunity to really push the envelope on behalf of our customers.” A good example is Amazon’s technology-led, bricks-and-mortar hair salon in London, which launched in 2021, when Melis was heading Amazon Beauty in the UK. The concept introduced immersive AR and VR (augmented and virtual reality) technology into the consultation process, allowing customers to virtually try on styles and colors before having their hair done IRL. “In my current technology role, it’s all about understanding customers’ needs and designing innovations that can deliver it to them. We are continually focusing on AR and VR because it is playing an increased role in the customer online shopping experience.” Basically, your smartphone has become a helpful, informed salesperson and trusted beauty advisor.

If technology is transforming the online shopping experience, making it easier and more efficient, shoppable entertainment is making it irresistibly fun. “What sets Amazon apart as a retailer is that we are also an entertainment company, and we can combine the two experiences organically,” says Melis. Anyone who’s binge-watched the Amazon Prime Video series Daisy Jones & the Six and dropped by the online store can vouch for that. “We partner with the show to bring the Daisy Jones experience to life on a shopping platform, with a curated selection of products,” says Melis. You can peruse and purchase rockstar-worthy nail colors, or hair color products to give you Daisy’s auburn locks or other looks inspired by the show’s female leads.

The video shopping experience, Amazon Live, is the latest convergence of tech, entertainment, and retail. This is Amazon’s high-tech shopping channel, where you can participate in the chat with other like-minded shoppers, ask questions of the “creator” host, and purchase deals in real time (or watch the playback later too).

“It’s a fun way of shopping because you can interact with celebrities, influencers, and brands on the livestreams,” says Melis. “You’re the first to see lots of product introductions, there are special promotions from top beauty brands, and all of this drives discovery and excitement.”

After studying engineering and earning a PhD in Engineering Design in the UK, Melis began her career working at Ford in production planning and engineering. Then came her big risk-taking pivot: “I had a change of heart about the direction I was going in and joined Procter & Gamble’s beauty care business in London. I fell in love with beauty and spent over 11 years at P&G working across product development, strategy operations, and marketing of hair care, skin care, and cosmetics,” says Melis, who moved to Amazon in 2014. “I have a genuine curiosity about all things beauty, and I’m a bit of a dreamer at heart. I really believe in the power and the magic of beauty.”

When Melis was at P&G, one of her bosses gave her a great piece of advice. “He told me, ‘Dreams remain dreams, until you take action.’ It’s about pushing myself and encouraging my team to act on our dreams,” says Melis. “I think big and push for that north star, but I never jump in with my eyes closed. I’m very analytical about how to get there — perhaps that’s my engineering background — and I anticipate the possible complexities we will have to overcome along the way.”

Her advice to young women interested in the beauty business? Jump in and spend a few years experiencing different aspects. “I worked on the manufacturing side, in upstream design, professional B2B, and now retail,” says Melis. “A career is a marathon, not a sprint, so don’t be impatient. It’s a long journey and you should take your time and enjoy it because this industry is so fun.”