How Leaders Lead · Nov 12, 2026 · 1h 11m · 63m saved
With Artemis Patrick, President and CEO of Sephora North America
Artemis Patrick, President and CEO of Sephora North America, said more than 15 million Beauty Insiders have signed up through Sephora's shop-in-shop partnership with Kohl's, and over 70% of them shop Sephora nowhere else, on How Leaders Lead with David Novak.
Most retail executives talk about loyalty in the abstract. Artemis traces her own version of it to a specific childhood event that had nothing to do with retail.
"I am very, very keenly aware of sliding doors... my life could have been drastically different. And so I do live in constant gratitude." — Artemis Patrick
Artemis came to the US from Iran in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution, entered foster care at age 10, and went on to turn down a Sephora job in 1998 over its dress code before rejoining the company in 2006 and rising to run its largest region.
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The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 1 hour 11 minutes of audio, 8 minutes of reading.
Here are the 9 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Sephora has signed up over 15 million Beauty Insiders through Kohl's, and more than 70% shop Sephora nowhere else
Sephora never missed its operating-profit plan running inside J.C. Penney during the "Rome is burning" traffic collapse under CEO Ron Johnson
Artemis requires three conditions for any retail partnership: exclusivity, faster physical reach, and shared values at the leadership level
Sephora restored informal "assistant apply" makeup application after over-rotating into paid, appointment-based services post-pandemic
A capital-intensive store redesign will reach more than 40% of stores by year-end, moving services like eyebrow waxing away from street windows
Sephora dedicated 15% of shelf space to Black-owned brands in 2020 and relaunched its Accelerate founder program around BIPOC founders
Sephora gave every corporate employee a Microsoft Copilot license, framing AI as a way to free up time for human connection, not replace it
1. From Foster Care to Sephora
Artemis traced her leadership philosophy to her childhood. Born in Iran, she came to the US in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution and entered foster care at age 10, where kind foster parents changed the trajectory of her life.
Artemis says foster care is why she leads with empathy and gratitude
"I was born in Iran, and I came to America in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution... I ended up in the foster care system and I was raised by foster parents since I was 10 years old." — Artemis Patrick
Separately, she explained her "brand whisperer" nickname traces to Sephora's earliest days in the late 1990s, when major brands refused to work with the then-unproven retailer, forcing it to build relationships instead with indie brands — Urban Decay, Too Faced, Tarte, Stila, Dr. Dennis Gross and Caudalie — that are now household names.
