Penny Coy CEW Achiever Award Honoree 2024
Skip to content

How Ulta Beauty’s Penny Coy Turned Her Interest in Retail into a C-Suite Success Story

Coy’s love for beauty began as a teenager in the ’80s, when the single bathroom in her family’s house was perpetually scented by Noxzema, Aqua Net, and at-home perms. Her interest in merchandising was first ignited by her mother, who owned a bridal boutique — then later stoked in college when Coy majored in retail merchandising and worked for several department stores in the Twin Cities area. At Ulta Beauty, Coy has been able to marry these interests and contribute to the retailer’s tremendous growth over the past 15 years — all while maintaining what she calls “work-life harmony.”

This content is exclusively open to CEW Members

Join CEW for unlimited access to articles, industry reports, and more.

Benefits include:

  • Invitations to members-only industry events
  • Connect with 8,000+ industry contacts globally
  • CEW Beauty News & proprietary trend reports
  • Exclusive networking opportunities

Sign Up