Leila Velez is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in business growth strategy and operational excellence. She founded and scaled Beleza Natural into a $100M+ beauty empire with 55 locations and 4,000 employees. Currently, she advises and invests in Curl Lab, an AI-driven beauty-tech startup. Her expertise lies in scaling ventures and expanding into international markets.
Leila serves on several advisory boards, including Columbia Business School and Farmax Beauty Industry. She holds an MBA from COPPEAD and has completed executive programs at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. She’s been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and Female Entrepreneur of the Year in San Francisco. She’s also a TEDx speaker.
Leila is fluent in English and Portuguese, with working knowledge of German, Spanish and French. She enjoys reading, traveling and long walks with her Alaskan Malamute.
