L'Oreal USA Opens Nominations For The Fifth Annual Women In Digital Next Generation Awards

Exceptional female-founded companies can apply through July 18 at www.lorealwomenindigital.com

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Jun 09, 2016, 09:21 ET

NEW YORK, June 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- L'Oreal USA today announced its open call for nominations for the Women in Digital NEXT Generation Awards. Now entering its fifth year, L'Oreal USA created the program to support female entrepreneurs working in digital fields by providing them with the opportunity to launch and scale new technologies in partnership with L'Oreal USA brands. The Women in Digital program provides recognition, exposure and mentorship opportunities to help female entrepreneurs elevate their profiles, expand their networks and grow their businesses. Since its inception, the program has created a network of more than 2,000 female-operated companies.

The NEXT Generation Awards are presented to three companies that are creating disruptive and innovative technology solutions for businesses. The winners will be invited to participate in L'Oreal USA's annual Inspiration Day, where more than 500 L'Oreal USA marketing executives and employees will vote on a Grand Prize winner who will receive a paid pilot with a L'Oreal USA brand. Past winners of the program include notable names such as: Kathryn Minshew, Founder and CEO of The Muse; Bettina Hein, Founder and CEO of Pixability and Rachel Tipograph, Founder and CEO of MikMak.

"This powerful community of women entrepreneurs that we were proud to start five years ago is now having a measurable impact. Many of the winners we supported in the early years of the program have gone on to develop groundbreaking technologies that enable L'Oreal to connect with our consumers in new ways," said Rachel Weiss, Vice President of Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship at L'Oreal USA and Chair of the Women in Digital program. "The success of the women involved in this program is a true testament to our mission. This year, we're excited to continue growing L'Oreal USA's leadership in digital innovation and expand our pipeline of diverse female entrepreneurs."

The program also offers winners mentorship from the esteemed L'Oreal USA Women in Digital Advisory Board, which includes: Joanne Bradford, Chief Operating Officer at SoFi; Cheryl Cheng, Partner, BlueRun Ventures; Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, General Electric; Carolyn Everson, Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook; Brooke Hammerling, Founder, Brew; Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group; Jalak Jobanputra, Managing Director and Founding Partner, FuturePerfect Ventures; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder at Ellevest; Karin Klein, ‎Founder, Venture Capitalist, Strategist at ‎Bloomberg Beta; Ann Miura-Ko, Co-Founding Partner at Floodgate; Kara Nortman, Partner at UPFront Ventures.

L'Oreal USA continues to see the measurable impact of the program and has negotiated pilots with six of the winning female entrepreneurs thus far. Previous winners have experienced tremendous business growth and have collectively raised over $300 million in funding.

Women-founded companies can apply for the 2016 L'Oreal USA Women in Digital NEXT Generation Awards at: www.lorealwomenindigital.com through July 18.

L'Oreal USA
L'Oreal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L'Oreal Group, the worldwide leader in beauty. L'Oreal USA manages a portfolio of more than 30 iconic beauty brands, including Carol's Daughter, Clarisonic, Essie, Garnier, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Kérastase, Kiehl's, Lancôme, L'Oreal Paris, Matrix, Maybelline New York, NYX, Redken, Urban Decay and Yves Saint Laurent Beauté. In addition to its corporate headquarters in New York City, L'Oreal USA has research, manufacturing and distribution facilities across 13 other states including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Washington with a workforce of more than 10,000 employees. For more information, visit www.LorealUSA.com or follow on Twitter @LOrealUSA.