Executive Board

Stacey House

Stacey House is the Global Head of Innovation for KDC-One’s Beauty and Personal Care Division, responsible for driving industry leading product development for the organization. Previously, she was the Vice President of R&I/Regulatory for KDC-One’s East Coast. Together with the talented teams at Acupac, Chemaid, Innovation Lab and Kolmar she is focused on customer development of elevated, high touch formulas in categories spanning the industry. Stacey has been involved in hundreds of product launches and helping emerging brands develop product lines.

She started her career on the brand side at Revlon and Coty, supporting all facets within R&D over a combined 14-year period. She then moved into the supplier side of the cosmetic industry as the Director of Applications for Kobo Products, managing labs in the USA, Brazil, and France. During this time, she was involved in ingredient development of sunscreen technologies, surface treatments and dispersions to optimize pigments in support of diversity & inclusivity, and of natural platforms.  Afterwards, she joined MANA Products as the Director of R&D prior to joining KDC/One.

Stacey holds a patent on Low Viscosity Phenyl Trimethicone Applications. She has written several published industry articles and has given presentations globally for the Society of Cosmetic Chemist (SCC), IFSCC, and In-cosmetics.

Stacey graduated from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business with MBAs in International Business, Operations and Supply Chain Management. She received her Bachelor of Science degree at Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a focus on Microbiology in Cosmetics. Stacey is an active member of SCC, CHIEF, and Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW).

Giorgio Dell’Acqua

Giorgio Dell’Acqua is currently Chief Science Officer at Nutrafol. After obtaining his PhD in Cell Biology in 1989, Giorgio worked in academia for 15 years as an investigator in applied medical research. Moving to the private sector in 2000, he has spent the last 21 years as an executive and cosmetic scientist in the personal care industry, directing R&D, Science, Product Development and Innovation. Giorgio Dell’Acqua has helped bring and communicate more than 200 successful active ingredients and finished products to market, has authored more than 80 publications in medicine and cosmetic science, he holds multiple patents, and has been a presenter and a keynote speaker at more than 20 personal care events and conferences during the last four years. He is also an award-winning speaker on natural ingredients and a regular writer on sustainability. Giorgio will chair and speak at a NYSCC Clean Beauty event in March 2022.

Dr. Amber O. Evans

Dr. Amber Evans is a cosmetic industry professional with over a decade of experience. In her current position as Senior Manager of Product Development at Moroccanoil, she leverages her technical expertise in hair & skin care, ingredient & formulation technology, and claims testing to help drive the global launch of prestige products for hair & body care and hair color.  Prior to Moroccanoil, she worked as a development scientist at ingredient supplier BASF, where her contributions spanned hair, body, and oral care. She also previously supported hair care initiatives at Procter & Gamble.

Dr. Evans earned a Ph.D. in Cosmetic Science from University of Cincinnati and a B.S. in Chemistry from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. She has authored hair care research publications, contributed content to the NYSCC Blog series and NaturallyCurly.com, and featured on multiple platforms that support aspiring scientists and early career professionals.

Alex Blakeman

Alex Blakeman is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. He obtained his MS in Polymer Technology from Leningrad Institute of Technology in 1983 having graduated with Honors. Moving to the US in 1986 he started his career in the wonderful world of colors. During his tenure he grew from bench chemist to technical manager, eventually assuming a role of key account manager. In 2007 he joined regional distributor, Superior Materials Inc. and is now covering a variety of industries – from building products to personal care applications. Alex has become a NYSCC member in 2010 and has been volunteering for the NYSCC for the last 5 years.

Luciana Coutinho

Luciana is the founder and Chief Product Officer of LULUBLE, INC., a boutique product development laboratory specializing in topical formulations for the beauty and pharma industry from concept to counter. As previous experience, she was Director of Innovation & Product Development for Prestige Consumer Healthcare, Category Manager of Product Development for Reckitt Benckiser, and Manager of Product Development, Skin Care and Personal Care – Global R&D, for Avon Products. Luciana has a MS in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Rhode Island and graduated with a thesis on Near Infrared Microscopy of Human Hair – Spectral Identification and Assessment of Structural Changes. She holds a certification in Cosmetic Technology from Universidade do Sagrado Coração, – São Paulo, Brazil and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Escola de Engenharia Mauá – São Paulo, Brazil. She has presented many times at Cosmetic Science events on Natural Ingredients and Clean Beauty, and she has been instrumental in creating a strong liaison between the NYSCC and the Indie Brands, organizing seminars and events. Other than the SCC, she is also a member of organizations such as CEW and IBE.