Joey Shamah

Joey Shamah co-founded e.l.f. Cosmetics with Scott-Vincent Borba in June 2004, launching a makeup line priced at just $1. The pair met at a party in 2002 and noticed women driving luxury cars still buying inexpensive beauty products. With assistance from Shamah's father Alan, they established the brand in Oakland, California. Before e.l.f., Shamah attended New York University from 2001 to 2005.

When retailers showed little interest in the dollar-store concept, Shamah hired a PR firm that secured placement in Glamour Magazine, forcing the team to build an e-commerce site to fulfill orders. On September 16, 2006, a rumor that Bloomingdale's would acquire e.l.f. triggered an avalanche of 18,000 orders in a single day, up from 300 weekly. Rather than buckling, Shamah and his team turned the crisis into growth, landing a four-foot section at Target and accelerating national distribution.

Under Shamah's leadership, e.l.f. became a pioneer of cruelty-free cosmetics and earned PETA's Trail-Blazer Award. He served as CEO until 2014, when private equity firm TPG Growth acquired a majority stake and Tarang Amin took over as president and CEO. Shamah remained a significant shareholder and continued exploring new ventures.

After transitioning from e.l.f. in 2016, he founded Fit for Life through a joint venture acquiring the operating company of GAIAM Americas. He later served as CEO of AS Beauty, overseeing brands including CoverFX and Mally Beauty before shuttering both. Shamah continues to pursue opportunities across the beauty and wellness sectors.