Washington Insider Bruce Mehlman will provide a comprehensive analysis of policy and political trends driving the 2022 mid-term elections – one of the most critical in our nation’s history as we deal with the global COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and growing domestic and geopolitical challenges.   

Mehlman, a partner at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, will discuss what to expect from the 118th U.S. Congress, the key players, policy priorities and impact of redistricting on elections. His quarterly infographic reports provide critical analysis to tens of thousands of readers, viewers and listeners around the world. Mehlman regularly appears on television networks to discuss political trends and their implications.

About the Speaker

Bruce Mehlman
Partner, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas

With over two decades experience in public policy, business and the law, Bruce Mehlman helps leaders and organizations understand, anticipate and navigate political risk.

Mehlman is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on policy and political trends, regularly headlining business conferences and strategic planning sessions. His quarterly infographic analyses are consistently picked-up by national media and eagerly consumed by tens of thousands of readers around the world. Television networks and shows, including Showtime’s The Circus, CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business and Hearst often ask Mehlman to appear to discuss trends and their implications.

Mehlman previously served as assistant secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy under President George W. Bush. He also worked as a senior leadership aide in the House of Representatives, general counsel to a national political party committee and policy counsel to Cisco Systems. Mehlman is widely-regarded as an expert in running coalitions, quarterbacking issue campaigns and managing C-suite associations, bringing innovative approaches and determined execution to achieve impactful outcomes.

An adjunct professor and Board member of The Washington Campus, Mehlman frequently lectures MBA candidates on “effective business-government relations.” He serves on the advisory boards of start-up companies, including FiscalNote, iLearningEngines and Virtru, in addition to serving on the Boards of The Center for Democracy & Technology, The Washington Campus and the State Science & Technology Institute. Mehlman earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School, where he served on the Virginia Law Review.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., will join President & CEO Lezlee Westine for a fireside chat. They will discuss a wide range of important industry topics and the Commissioner’s vision for the Agency’s future.  Califf is highly regarded for his lifelong commitment to leadership in promoting public health and advancing clinical science.

About the Speakers

Robert M. Califf, M.D.
Commissioner, FDA

Robert M. Califf, M.D., was confirmed earlier this year as the 25th commissioner of Food and Drugs. He also served in 2016 as the 22^nd Commissioner and immediately prior to that as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. He has spent a good portion of his career affiliated with Duke University, where he served as a professor of medicine and vice chancellor for clinical and translational research, director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute and was the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He has had a long and distinguished career as a physician, researcher, and leader in the fields of science and medicine. He is a nationally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine, health outcomes research, health care quality, and clinical research, and a leader in the growing field of translational research, which is key to ensuring that advances in science translate into medical care.

Lezlee Westine
President & CEO, PCPC

Lezlee Westine is the president and chief executive officer of the Personal Care Products Council, the leading national trade association for the cosmetics and personal care products industry, representing the most innovative names in beauty today. 

Before joining PCPC, Westine served as president and CEO of TechNet, directing and overseeing day-to-day operations and strategic planning for the leading bipartisan political network of CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy. In 2005, Westine opened TechNet’s first office in Washington, D.C., and served as one of America’s most prominent spokespersons for both innovation and the high technology industry. Through Westine’s leadership, TechNet grew from an organization of two members to more than 200 CEOs and Venture Capitalists. From January 2001 to May 2005, Westine served as deputy assistant to the president and director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House, managing all White House outreach and coalition development.

Moderated by PCPC President & CEO Lezlee Westine, PCPC’s senior staff will examine the state of the industry, the latest scientific research and issues, public policy, regulations, global advocacy, and communications challenges and opportunities facing the industry. 

Larissa Jensen, vice president, Industry Advisor at The NPD Group, will share her expert insights and analysis of global beauty trends and actual retail sales results, including overall industry sales performance, as well as consumer perceptions of price increases, the impact of the return to socializing and travel, and consumers’ investment in health and wellness.

About the Speaker

Larissa Jensen
Vice President, Industry Advisor, The NPD Group

Larissa Jensen shares her insights on the NPD Group Blog and has been a contributor to major media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, The Business of Fashion, HAPPI, and GCI magazine.  She is an advisory board member for The Fashion Institute of Technology’s CFMM Master’s Program, and serves on the Board of Advisors for Beauty Packaging magazine. Jensen joined NPD in 2005, following her marketing roles at The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., and L’Oréal USA.

End the Summit’s first day with a memorable reception at Charlie Palmer Steak’s rooftop terrace, featuring one of the most impressive views of the Capitol. PCPC and industry colleagues will celebrate the second annual Madam C.J. Walker Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to DEI through strong leadership and sustained efforts with a focus on workplace culture, programs and policies, or through external engagement with consumers and communities. 

We are living through a fundamental shift in the development of regulations that have assured the safety cosmetics and personal care products for decades with a growing number of regulations based on hazard, rather than the risk ingredients might present. In today’s presentation, we will review the history of regulation and explore the impact of the changing regulatory environment on cosmetics product development.

About the Speakers

Jay Ansell, Ph.D., DABT, ERT
Vice President, Cosmetics Program, PCPC

Jay Ansell, Ph.D., DABT, ERT, is a chemist and board-certified toxicologist. As vice president of PCPC’s Cosmetic Programs, he is responsible for providing technical support to PCPC staff, committees and task forces addressing the science and regulation of personal care products.

Ansell came to PCPC from Yves Rocher, a personal care products company based in France, where he served as director of North American Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs. Previous positions include senior positions at international specialty chemical companies.

Ansell brings more than 30 years of experience leading global regulatory affairs and quality initiatives in the personal care products and specialty chemicals industries. He is a noted speaker on a wide range of topics including safety and risk assessment. He leads PCPC’s nanotechnology activities, serves as chairman of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC 217-Cosmetics, was founder and president of the Council for Advanced Agricultural Formulations and is past president of the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.

Kimberly Norman, Ph.D., DABT, ERT
Senior Director, Safety and Regulatory Toxicology, PCPC

Kim joined PCPC as senior director, Safety and Regulatory Toxicology, in May 2022. Norman obtained her Ph.D from Vanderbilt University in Cell and Developmental Biology and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT).

Previously, Norman served as an associate research fellow in Global Stewardship at the Clorox Company, supporting regulatory and safety compliance for Burt’s Bees ingredients and products. While at Burt’s Bees, she was actively engaged with PCPC and her industry peers, serving as the vice chair and then chair of the Safety and Regulatory Toxicology Committee (SRTC).

She previously worked at the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) as a senior toxicologist and study director, leading studies assessing eye and skin safety profiles of ingredients and formulations using non-animal methods. During this time, she worked collaboratively on the development and regulatory acceptance of numerous assays, replacing animal use in the personal care industry and served on the OECD Expert Panel for Skin Sensitization.

Many states have stepped in to fill the vacuum on consumer protection, health and wellness and similar issues. From Hawaii to New York, our expert speaker will look at how state legislation and regulation are impacting your industry, including recent activity such as ingredient bans, reporting, VOC emission limits, PFAS and more.

About the Speaker

Angela Diesch
Partner, Amin Talati Wasserman

Angela Diesch’s practice focuses on the “natural” and “organic” sectors of consumer products. Diesch assists companies in complying with regulatory requirements applicable to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of cosmetics, foods, dietary supplements, and OTC drugs (including homeopathic) and medical devices. Diesch advises clients at all stages of product development, including determining correct product classification and whether premarket notifications are needed.

With an in-depth understanding of her clients’ businesses, she also adeptly negotiates and drafts research and development, manufacturing, vendor, supplier and quality agreements. In addition, Diesch reviews product labels and marketing to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and assesses claims for needed substantiation. She also advises clients regarding the development of SOPs and compliance with applicable cGMP and quality control requirements.

In addition to the regulatory side of her practice, as a seasoned litigator, Diesch helps clients efficiently and effectively resolve enforcement actions and investigations initiated by the FDA, FTC, NAD, and states’ Attorney Generals and District Attorneys. Whether responding to 483s and Warning Letters, civil investigative demands, or cease and desist requests, Diesch skillfully guides clients through sticky situations. She is also a results-driven, trusted advocate when clients are facing private litigants and class action challenges.

Diesch is the founding chair of NSF International’s Joint Committee for Good Manufacturing Practices for Cosmetics, and in that role, helped bring that Joint Committee’s auditing standard to fruition (NSF/ANSI 455-3). She is also the founding author of the blog, CosmeticsAndTheLaw.com, routinely speaks at industry conferences and seminars, and offers educational training to client’s customer service reps and marketing teams.

Outside of law, Diesch is an avid skier, whether in the back country or resorts. During the summer you can find her camping in her family’s ’87 Synchro Westfalia, mountain biking the single track trails out her back door, or paddle boarding on the alpine lakes near her home.

The 117th Congress is the most diverse in history with 124 lawmakers (23%) identifying as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander and women representing 27% of members of Congress, an all-time high.  Moderator Esi Eggleston Bracy, president, Unilever USA and CEO Personal Care North America, will moderate a discussion on how increased diversity helps government and business address challenges facing our nation, featuring Rep. Linda T. Sánchez and Heba Mahmoud, senior manager of Inclusion & Diversity, MITRE Corporation.

About the Speakers

Esi Eggleston Bracey
President Unilever USA, CEO Personal Care North America, Unilever

Esi Eggleston Bracey is a transformational beauty leader with decades of executive experience in the CPG and beauty industries where she has created meaningful business impact through purpose driven leadership and initiatives. Bracey is president of Unilever’s U.S. business and oversees Unilever’s Personal Care portfolio in North America, which includes iconic brands such as Dove, Degree and Axe among others. She previously served as EVP and COO of the Beauty and Personal Care business in North America where she lead the $5B Beauty & Personal Care portfolio for Unilever North America, which included responsibility for the Hair, Skin Cleansing, Skin Care and Deodorant businesses with iconic brands like Dove, TRESemmé, Suave, Vaseline, Degree, Axe and Shea Moisture.

A believer that business can be a force for good, Bracey led efforts to make Unilever the company that makes the most impact on people, communities, and the planet. These efforts include Dove’s founding of the CROWN (Creating and Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition to help foster beauty inclusivity and to eradicate hair discrimination through support of the CROWN Act legislation and champion for Shea Moisture’s work with the New Voices Fund for Women of Color Entrepreneurs. 

Prior to joining Unilever, Bracey spent more than 15 years as a leader in the dynamic global cosmetics industry. She held the position of president of Coty’s Global Consumer Beauty Division and senior vice president of Procter & Gamble’s Global Cosmetics, leading a portfolio of flagship international makeup brands, including COVERGIRL, Max Factor, Sally Hansen, Rimmel London, Bourjois and more.

Earlier in her career, Bracey led COVERGIRL’s pioneering work to diversify the face of beauty with disruptive ‘real beauty’ talent such as Queen Latifah, Pink, Ellen and Janelle Monae. Outside of work, she has co-founded CauseWeCare to help keep our communities safe in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bracey has been recognized with numerous awards, including Ad Color Legend Award, BE Powerful Women in Business, Ebony Power 100, BET Butterfly Award, Cosmetics Executive Women Achievers Awards, Advertising Age Women to Watch, Women Wear Daily Marketer of the Year and many more.

Heba Mahmoud
Senior Manager of Inclusion & Diversity, MITRE Corporation

Heba Mahmoud is responsible for designing, leading, executing and integrating strategic enterprise-wide I&D initiatives, practices and processes that cultivate an inclusive culture and reinforce a sense of belonging. A mission-driven professional, Mahmoud spent the last 17 years working with membership associations to create inclusive, diverse and equitable professional sectors that welcome and engage underrepresented communities.

Prior to MITRE, Mahmoud was the senior manager of diversity initiatives at the Consumer Technology Association, where she was responsible for building and implementing initiatives to advance inclusion in the tech ecosystem. Previously, she worked at the Association of Fundraising Professionals where she took the lead in launching the Women’s Impact Initiative, a program to help advance female fundraisers into leadership roles.

Mahmoud holds an MBA in Business Management from Strayer University and a Bachelor of International Business and Marketing from Howard University. She is also a scholar in the 2018-2020 class of the American Society of Association Executives’ Diversity Executive Leadership Program (DELP). Mahmoud is passionate about youth engagement and actively volunteers with several Washington, D.C., area groups. She started a small non-profit organization focused on supporting and engaging Nubian-Egyptian youth in the D.C.-metro area and is a featured author in Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love, a collection of stories from fourteen Black writers detailing their experiences in the non-profit sector in the U.S. and Canada.

Rep. Linda T. Sánchez
U.S. House of Representatives

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, Sánchez is the first Latina to serve on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Judiciary Committee. A lifelong progressive, she has devoted her career to helping working people get ahead: advocating for families, improving America’s education system, and bringing jobs to Southern California. 

Throughout her time in Congress, Sánchez has been a steadfast advocate for working people, including improving school safety; enabling more women, minorities, and veterans to establish small businesses; reforming the tax code to provide relief for long-term caregivers; bringing scrutiny to the misuse of arbitration that unfairly harms workers; and keeping families in their homes through changes to bankruptcy law.

In addition to co-founding the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus, Sánchez has also served in several leadership positions. From 2011 to 2017 (112th–114th Congresses), she was the Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee. In the 114th Congress, Sánchez served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). During the 115th Congress (2015–2017), Sánchez served as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. She is the first Latina elected to a leadership position in the U.S. Congress.

Sánchez has also served on the following committees: Judiciary, Ethics, Oversight and Reform, Small Business, Education and Labor, Veterans’ Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and the Select Committee on Benghazi.

Katie Williams
Chief Marketing Officer U.S., Haleon

Katie Williams is Chief Marketing Officer at Haleon in the U.S., where she is responsible for a $4.5B portfolio of leading brands. She joined the company in January 2019 as Vice President, NA Marketing. 

Prior to that, she held various positions of increasing responsibility in marketing at Mondelēz International, including senior marketing director, NA Confections senior director, Global Fuel and Premium Biscuits, and senior director, Wholesome Savory Crackers. Earlier in her career, she worked at Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble.

Williams earned an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University. She is a member of a female-led private executive network – Chief – and the GoogleAds Board of Directors.

Corporate sustainability is the management of the environmental impacts, social and economic value, and governance of an enterprise. Companies today recognize that managing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of business and operations requires a focus on continuous improvement using measurement tools and management strategies. PCPC member companies are dedicated to improving the well-being of people and the planet and are aligned in their commitment to operate responsibly and integrate sustainable practices along the entire lifecycle of the products they manufacture and market.

As stakeholder pressures mount for more transparent, standardized and comparable information about the environmental and social impacts that companies create, regulators are stepping in to level the playing field. ESG regulations are expected to continue to increase as countries work towards meeting the targets set out in the Paris Agreement and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. This session will provide a high-level summary of key ESG regulations that have the potential to impact the way PCPC member companies operate now and in the future.

Moderator Pamela Alabaster, SVP global head of Sustainability and Social Impact, Mattel, along with Dan Feldman, partner, Covington (former ambassador and chief of staff to Secretary John Kerry); Laura Kim, partner, Covington; and Matt Franker, Of Counsel, Covington, will discuss the changing regulatory landscape and key ESG regulations. Policies covered: SEC Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures, EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, and other policies taking root around the globe.

About the Speakers

Dan Feldman
Partner, Covington

Drawing on his prior positions in government service spanning multiple Administrations, former Ambassador Dan Feldman’s practice focuses on environmental, social and governance (ESG) counseling, business and human rights (BHR), global public policy and international regulatory compliance. He is co-chair both of Covington’s ESG practice and a member of the firm’s Global Problem-Solving initiative. As chief of staff and counselor to Secretary John Kerry when he was appointed in his role as the first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC), Feldman helped drive the U.S. government’s international climate agenda for the first year and a half of the Biden administration, coordinating high-level interagency policy-making, engaging with corporate stakeholders, and contributing to key bilateral and multilateral climate discussions, including last year’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate and the landmark UN Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. His business and human rights expertise coupled with his environmental and climate work brings a rare set of capabilities that addresses the complete range of ESG issues impacting global corporations.

Laura Kim
Partner, Covington

Laura Kim draws upon her experience in senior positions at the Federal Trade Commission to advise clients across industries on complex advertising, privacy, and data security matters. She provides practical compliance advice and represents clients in FTC and State AG investigations. Kim advises on a wide range of consumer protection issues, including green claims, influencers, native advertising, claim substantiation, Made in USA claims, children’s privacy, subscription auto-renewal marketing and other digital advertising matters. In addition, Kim actively practices before the NAD, including recent successful resolution of matters for both challengers and advertisers. She chairs Covington’s Advertising and Consumer Protection Practice Group and participates in the firm’s Internet of Things Initiative.

Matt Franker
Of Counsel Covington

Matt Franker has more than 15 years of experience advising public companies, underwriters and boards of directors in capital markets offerings, disclosure and securities compliance matters, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate issues. Franker has significant experience representing companies from a broad range of industries, including life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, energy, consumer products and telecommunications. Being a former SEC staff member, he also has extensive experience advising clients on SEC rulemakings and regulatory proceedings. Franker has a robust securities advisory practice focused on assisting public companies in a wide variety of disclosure, corporate governance and compliance matters.

Pamela Gill-Alabaster
SVP, Global Head of Sustainability & Social Impact, Mattel

Pam Gill-Alabaster has over 25 years of experience building beloved consumer brands, enhancing organizational reputation, engaging stakeholders and building corporate sustainability practice and capabilities. Gill-Alabaster is currently global head of Sustainability for Mattel, a leading toy company with a portfolio of beloved and trusted consumers brands, including Barbie, Matchbox, Fisher Price, HotWheels and American Girl Doll, among others. Recognized by TriplePundt, Forbes and Women in Sustainability Leadership (WSLA) as among the Top Women in Sustainability/CSR, Gill-Alabaster creates organizational value through the lens of sustainability and delivers results by identifying opportunities and managing risks through ethical/responsible sourcing and human rights, product design, stewardship and innovation, efficient operations, energy/GHG emission strategy, waste management, water stewardship, GRI/ES&G reporting, stakeholder/activist engagement, materiality, brand purpose and social impact programs.

Regulatory changes, global supply chain disruption and increased geopolitical uncertainty are posing new challenges for international business. A senior Biden administration trade official and Embassy representatives will discuss new initiatives to address global challenges and expand market access for U.S. companies.

About the Speakers

Amb. Sarah Bianchi
Deputy United States Trade Representative, Office of the United States Trade Representative

Ambassador Sarah Bianchi currently serves as deputy United States trade representative, overseeing Asia, Africa, Investment, Services, Textiles and Industrial Competitiveness. Bianchi has spent nearly a decade in government roles in economic and domestic policy, including in the Office of the Vice President, the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. 

In 2011, Bianchi was appointed by then Vice President Biden as his head of economic and domestic policy where she coordinated all policy initiatives ranging from workforce competitiveness to manufacturing to budget negotiations. She also served as deputy assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Bianchi has also served as a senior advisor to the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware where she worked on a variety of economic policies and served as Chair of the Institute’s Policy Advisory Board. 
 
Bianchi has served in a number of private sector roles as well. Most recently, she worked at Evercore ISI as a senior managing director in the macroeconomic research group where she led United States public policy research. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1995 and served on the Senior Advisory Committee at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University from 2004 to 2021. Bianchi and her husband have a thirteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son and live in Arlington, Va.

Hideaki Fujisawa
Minister, Economic Section, Embassy of Japan

Hideaki Fujisawa has mainly taken charge of various international policy areas, including economic relations with Southeast Asian and Pacific countries (director, Asia and Pacific Division), as well as Middle East (first secretary, Embassy of Japan in Iran and senior deputy director, Middle East & Africa Division and international negotiations on energy and environmental policies).

In this capacity, he had been in charge of planning a wide range of trade policies in METI since July 2021. He is currently serving as minister of Economy, Trade, Industry/Business and Energy at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.

Rodrigo Godinho
Minister Counsel, Embassy of Brazil

Minister Counselor at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington since September 2020. In this role, Rodrigo Godinho coordinates the economic section encompassing the areas of international trade, finance, energy, agriculture and environment.

Prior to joining the Embassy, he served as foreign affairs advisor to the ministers of Finance and Economy of Brazil (February 2018 – August 2020). In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as head of the Financial Policy Division (2011-2014) and of the Caribbean Division (2010-2011), and had assignments at the embassies of Brazil in Paris, London and Asunción.

Godinho holds a Ph.D. in international relations (University of Brasília) and a master’s degree in Economics (University of São Paulo). He published a book on Brazil’s relationship with the OECD (2018) and articles on international issues and economic policy. He was a lecturer at the diplomatic academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

Andrew Jory
Minister Counsellor-Trade, Embassy of Australia

Andrew Jory is the Minister-Counsellor (Trade) at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Prior to this position he was the Assistant Secretary, Goods and Market Access Branch, Office of Trade Negotiations in Canberra. In this role, Jory was Australia’s Deputy Chief Negotiator in the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement and ran the goods agenda. Jory was Australia’s Chief Negotiator in the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Pacific Alliance Free Trade Agreement.

Prior to this, Jory ran Australia’s goods team in Australia’s Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, Switzerland, where he played a key role in the WTO Decision which eliminated export subsidies in agriculture. Jory was also Australia’s lead goods market access negotiator in the TPP and closed market access deals with the U.S., Mexico and Canada.