The Honest Company names Carla Vernón as CEO

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Dec 14, 2022

Los Angeles-based The Honest Company announced on Tuesday the appointment of former Amazon and General Mills executive Carla Vernón as CEO, effective January 9, 2023.

Vernón will replace current CEO Nick Vlahos who will step down from day-to-day operations after a near six-year tenure. He will remain on the board of directors at Honest.

In this role, Vernón will lead category growth and profitability behind the company’s core mission. In line with Honest’s diverse consumers, Vernón will be one of the only Afro-Latina CEOs at a U.S. publicly traded company.

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“I am thrilled Carla is joining The Honest Company as our next CEO. She is a strategic, visionary leader who will continue to build Honest as the legacy brand for tomorrow’s generation,” said founder and chief creative officer Jessica Alba. 

"What makes Carla unique is her innate ability to drive product innovation and go-to-market strategies that captivate consumers’ imagination, strengthen brand loyalty, and significantly impact the bottom line. I could not dream of a better person to take Honest into this exciting new chapter. With Carla at the helm, I am confident Honest will continue to redefine category expectations and pave the way for others to follow.”

Vernón joins Honest from Amazon, where she was vice president of consumables categories, leading the babycare, household products, food, beverages, health and wellness, and beauty categories to double-digit topline growth.

She is also credited for invigorating Amazon’s beauty experience by welcoming emerging and prestige beauty brands, introducing a proprietary virtual lipstick try-on technology, and creating the first-ever seasonal beauty merchandising event: Amazon’s Holiday Beauty Haul.

Prior to Amazon, Vernón spent more than two decades at General Mills in various P&L leadership roles across the company’s portfolio. Most recently, she was division president of its Natural and Organic business. Vernón also serves on the Board of Trustees for Princeton University.

“As a leader of the clean lifestyle movement, The Honest Company is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of this era and I am thrilled to join Jessica and the leadership team with a fresh perspective as we enter a new chapter of innovation and growth,” said Vernón. 

“As I take my seat at the table as a woman, a mom, and one of the only Afro-Latina CEOs of a U.S. public company, there are so many people and experiences that come with me. These are perspectives that can inspire our future growth and vision. That is what is so unique about The Honest Company. This brand was built to bring a rumble of change across industries, leading the way to bring clean and ethical products to the mainstream. And, we will continue doing that with products designed in new and better ways that meet today’s and tomorrow’s needs.”

Looking ahead, the company's outlook is to grow first half revenue in 2023 by 7-10 percent.