Kenneth Landis

Kenneth "Ken" Landis has spent nearly thirty years as an entrepreneur, operator, and private investor across the cosmetics, beauty, accessories, and fashion industries. He began his career in the audit and tax departments of Arthur Andersen & Co. and is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

Landis is best known as a serial co-founder of successful beauty brands. He co-founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in the early 1990s, which was acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies, and later co-founded TULA Skincare, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble. In September 2021 he co-founded DIBS Beauty alongside tech entrepreneur Dan Reich, creator/entrepreneur Courtney Shields, and former ARod Corp COO Jeff Lee — his third major beauty venture. On the operating side, he has served as CEO of Benetton Cosmetics Corp. (a subsidiary of Italy's Benetton Group with operations in 55 countries), was associated with luxury leather-goods brand GHURKA, and earlier served as Corporate Treasurer of IMS Health, Inc.

In 2000 he founded Landis Capital LLC, his personal investment firm, through which he makes seed and early-stage venture investments and sits on numerous company boards. His investing leans on decades of hands-on brand-building experience, particularly in consumer products, beauty, wellness, and e-commerce.

Beyond business, Landis is active in New York's cultural and philanthropic circles, serving on the Dean's Council of Weill Cornell Medical College, the Chairman's Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Directors Council of the Museum of Modern Art, and the Board of Trustees of Suffield Academy.

• Invests via Landis Capital LLC in "seed, early, and later stage venture investments" — the sweet spot is seed/early-stage.
• Sector emphasis on consumer products, beauty & personal care, wellness, e-commerce, fashion, and enterprise/technology — mirroring where he has operating credibility.
• Takes an active, operator-investor posture: he "has investments in and serves on the board of directors of a variety of early-stage consumer product, e-commerce and enterprise companies," rather than being a passive check-writer.
• His public track record signals a thesis of backing profitable, brand-driven consumer businesses built for exit — his own beauty brands (Bobbi Brown → Estée Lauder; TULA → P&G) exemplify the disciplined, margin-focused brand-building he champions (see his "Earned" podcast appearance on "the keys to building profitable beauty brands").