Malena Higuera

General Manager

Urban Decay

Malena Higuera is focused on building brands for tomorrow by unlocking the power of digital to yield business results, embracing the riches of diversity and learning to lead for the next generations. In October of 2020, Malena joined Urban Decay’s team as its General Manager. Urban Decay began in 1996 as “makeup for girls and boys who want to show the world who they are.” Inspired by UD’s focus on self-expression, digital-first approach, and deeply engaged community, she will be leading the next stage of this brand’s evolution in the U.S. Most recently, she served as General Manager of Dermablend, where she oversaw an accelerated market growth for three consecutive years, after repositioning the brand as the #1 Dermatologist-Recommended Coverage Brand and investing in ecommerce expansion. As Senior Vice President, Marketing at L’Oréal Paris, she led the #1 beauty brand’s strategy and operations, integrated communications, advertising and media. Her team launched the industry changing app Makeup Genius and became the first mass brand ever to achieve the #1 Genius ranking from L2: Business Intelligence for Digital in 2014.

Prior to these roles, Malena focused on growing brands in developing markets—leading Maybelline in Asia-Pacific, two skincare launches in China, and marketing global brands for Avon Products, Inc. On a mission to change the conversation in authentic cross-cultural marketing, she was the co- chair for Hispanicize 2016 and was named 2015 Top 50 Power Players in Multicultural Marketing by WWD Beauty. She was also included in the Bad Ass Women Series by Instyle. Malena is obsessed with the power of mentorship and believes it is part of the social change that is needed to hear, support and celebrate young, diverse voices. She is determined to bring mentorship to social, where she can be found every Monday answering questions and speaking vulnerably to mentor others. Her efforts were most recently recognized by Forbes.

Inspired by those that will inspire the future, Malena was also an advertising adjunct professor at her alma mater the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Magazine Journalism and was honored in 2015 as a Top 50 Forward graduate. She also received her Master’s from Northwestern University in Integrated Marketing Communications. She considers eating and traveling two sports she excels in, but her most important passion is being a mom and wife to her husband and two boys.