--- description: In her first year as CEO, Steelman took the U.S.-based company international, opening stores in the U.K., Mexico, and the Middle East. title: Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman Is Broadening the Business of Beauty image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43be7ee846e37549/69b0485dafd29ad4e4246257/Kecia-Steelman_Ulta-Beauty.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 26, 2026 # Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman Is Broadening the Business of Beauty by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  Kecia Steelman Kecia SteelmanUlta Beauty In January 2025, when Kecia Steelman was named president and CEO of Ulta Beauty, one of the [largest beauty retailers](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-11-11/ulta-s-strip-mall-dominance-made-it-hub-for-makeup-and-beauty "undefined") in the U.S., she became the leader of a staff of more than 58,000\. Of those workers, from the in-store sales associates to corporate executives, [91% are women](https://www.ulta.com/company/corporate-responsibility/people "undefined"). That statistic means something to Steelman, who started in retail over 30 years ago, when women in corporate leadership roles felt like a rarity. “I take a lot of responsibility in ... being an advocate for other women that are out there trying to break through,” she says. “That’s one of the best days at work for me— when I identify someone as having that ‘it’ factor and I’m like, ‘I see your potential even more than what you may see.’” In fact, it’s what happened to Steelman. In 1993, as a 20-year-old single mom in Iowa, she took an $8-an-hour job at a local Target. A manager offered her a leadership opportunity. From there, she worked her way up, landing roles at Home Depot and Family Dollar before joining Ulta’s C-suite in 2014\. When she was starting out, Steelman felt as if female leaders “had to be more masculine in how we showed up at work.” As a young mom, she felt pressure to miss school concerts and soccer games to prove her commitment. It’s something she now tries to discourage. “You need to be at home, start a little later in the day? I’m fine with that,” she says. “As female CEOs, we need to create those environments so we can get more women at the top.” Since 2022, Ulta’s MUSE Accelerator program has supported emerging beauty and wellness brands, a majority of which are owned by [BIPOC women](https://www.ulta.com/investor/news-events/press-releases/detail/214/ulta-beauty-announces-2025-muse-accelerator-cohort "undefined"), by offering funding and mentorship. In her first year as CEO, Steelman took the U.S.-based company international, opening stores in the U.K., Mexico, and the Middle East, a move expected to help Ulta’s annual fiscal revenue reach its $12.3 billion forecast for the year 2025, up by $1 billion from the previous year. It has also allowed Steelman to champion women-owned brands around the world. “To me,” she says, “that’s what global beauty is about: giving these brand founders the opportunity for greater success.” Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman Is Broadening the Business of Beauty ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7377909/kecia-steelman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7377909/kecia-steelman/"},"headline":"Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman Is Broadening the Business of Beauty","datePublished":"2026-02-26T12:35:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-26T17:25:46.887Z","description":"In her first year as CEO, Steelman took the U.S.-based company international, opening stores in the U.K., Mexico, and the Middle East.","url":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7377909/kecia-steelman/","keywords":["Women of the Year","list","franchise","Magazine","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43be7ee846e37549/69b0485dafd29ad4e4246257/Kecia-Steelman_Ulta-Beauty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43be7ee846e37549/69b0485dafd29ad4e4246257/Kecia-Steelman_Ulta-Beauty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/women-of-the-year/","name":"Women of the Year"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7377909/kecia-steelman/","name":"Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman Is Broadening the Business of Beauty"}}]}] ```