# Hannah Joo Diaz **Beauty Product Innovation & Development Lead @aruen** — New York City, NY, United States > My career began in the heart of global beauty innovation at Estée Lauder's Korea Innovation Hub, developing prestige products for brands like MAC and Estée Lauder. But I wanted to understand what actually moves a product in today's market. So, I stepped into venture capital and tech, earned a UCLA Anderson MBA, and learned how data, digital channels, and consumer behavior really drive growth. That detour is now my edge. I came back to beauty with a wider lens: I can sit with an R&D chemist on formula direction, read Amazon and TikTok Shop data to find where the market is heading, and connect both to how a product is actually positioned and sold. Today I lead end-to-end product development, from whitespace to launch, combining the rigor of a global R&D house with the speed of an indie startup. Most recently, at a founder-led K-beauty brand, I took two net-new products from concept to production-ready as sole product owner: naming, formula direction with our ODM, claims, on-pack copy, and packaging. Before we even launched, the lineup earned a retail pop-up with a premium Korean grocer. What I bring, built over 6+ years: ・Data-driven product discovery — Finding durable market whitespace (not short-term hype) by combining internal data with AI-assisted research across Amazon and TikTok Shop. ・End-to-end development — Carrying a product from concept through formula direction, ODM benchmarking, and packaging, with US consumer preferences built in from the start. ・Claims & messaging — Drafting product claims and on-pack copy written to minimize regulatory risk ahead of formal legal review, and aligning PDP messaging with what the formula actually does (2x ROAS on a product turnaround, no added ad spend). ・Beauty × AI — Serving as a beauty subject-matter expert: designing color-science evaluation rubrics (PCCS) and expert annotations that help AI models read shade, finish, and texture from INCI data. ・Bridging Korea and the US — Translating world-class Korean product capability into products built for the US consumer, across both languages and both markets. I work at the intersection of the lab, the data, and the market. I'm the rare product person who can talk formulas with R&D, brief an ODM, and back a decision with data. I turn chemistry and consumer signals into products that are built to sell. Bilingual (English/Korean) · Open to product development & innovation roles in beauty. Color Science | Shade Development | Data Analytics | Skincare Product Development | Makeup Product Development | Competitive Research | NPD Career Archetype: **Junction Navigator** (HE-DG) — One of the first Junction Navigators on Saywise ## Links - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hannahjoodiaz ## Experience ### AI Subject Matter Expert (Beauty), Mercor Intelligence (2025-10 – 2025-12) San Francisco Bay Area · ・Partnered with a top leading AI lab through Mercor to build more human, inclusive product recommendations across skincare and makeup. ・Designed evaluation rubrics grounded in the PCCS Color System to assess an AI model's ability to distinguish complex shade nuances and map tone attributes to personal color classification, sharpening shade evaluation for personalized makeup. ・Provided expert annotations on product finish, color payoff, and texture from INCI data, generating training inputs that reduced reliance on physical swatching and strengthened competitive benchmark analysis. ### Lead, Product Development & Innovation, Aruen (2025-02 – present) San Francisco Bay Area · ・Led end-to-end development of 2 net-new SKUs as sole product owner, from whitespace and product brief through formulation strategy, ODM management, COGS targets, and packaging, securing a retail pop-up with a premium Korean grocer ahead of launch. ・Directed in-depth ingredient research and formula feasibility analysis, filtering out incompatible active ingredients and packages, to deliver revision requests to an ODM, reducing submission cycles by 40% and accelerating product launch timeline. ・Drove the US positioning strategy by defining the brand identity and unifying the brand/product narrative across all touchpoints, validated by selection into the Stanford Consumer Accelerator (Spring 2026 Cohort). ・Developed FDA/FTC-compliant product claims and on-pack copy for net-new products, front-loading regulatory compliance to streamline legal review, and scoped the consumer perception studies and clinical testing needed to substantiate target efficacy claims. ・Orchestrated a strategic product turnaround by identifying a high-intent consumer whitespace and realigning PDP messaging with core formula benefits, driving a 2x increase in ROAS and >2x MoM new customer acquisition without increasing ad spend. ### Market Launch, Program Manager, 500 Global (2024-06 – 2024-12) Palo Alto, CA · • Managed ~$1M budget for an accelerator program by developing budget models to optimize resource allocation and coordinating timelines with cross-functional stakeholders; delivered 8% cost savings without compromising program quality (NPS 87). • Evaluated K-beauty startups across beauty tech (e.g., AI manufacturing, Beauty IoT device, oral care) by analyzing consumer insights, regional trends, and their technological moats, recommending high-potential startups to VC partners for review. • Structured and delivered a GTM program for 45+ global startups, developing workshops, curriculum, and hands-on guides to support faster market entry. • Drove operational excellence by implementing Al-enabled automation tools(Zapier, Excel, NotebookLM) to synthesize performance KPls, reducing manual reporting time by 40% and providing data-driven insights for external key stakeholders. • Launched a 287-attendee event from conception to execution in just 4 weeks; authored a global playbook and managed all aspects of logistics, resource planning, and vendor negotiations. ### Product Innovation & Development, Principal, themissingfox (2023-08 – 2025-12) San Francisco Bay Area · Key Projects ・Orchestrated a global accelerator for Hyundai Asan Nanum Foundation, supporting 20+ startups, facilitating 100+ expert sessions while implementing Al-driven workflows (Notion, Gemini) that boosted operational reporting efficiency by 60%. (2025) ・Created executive-level pitch decks and business development proposals to communicate UAE’s flagship global investment forum value propositions to Korean governmental agencies, strengthening international stakeholder engagement. (2024) ・Spearheaded US market entry strategies by cultivating high-level relationships with key tech partners (NVIDIA, Al Fund) and refining B2B product core features and go-to-market pitch narratives to align with local market needs. (2023) ### Product Manager, MBA Summer Intern, Chartmetric (2022-06 – 2022-09) San Francisco Bay Area · • Leveraged Bandsintown API to analyze touring activity (offline) alongside streaming metrics (online), identifying cross-channel growth patterns that were integrated into the client-facing touring analytics dashboard. • Developed audio-clip-level sound ID filtering that accelerated viral track discovery and delivered granular trend insights, highly valued by enterprise clients for enhancing data-driven A&R decisions. ### Product Strategy & Innovation, MBA Intern, AMAZE (2022-01 – 2022-03) West Hollywood, California, United States · • Led comprehensive research on emerging tech (NFTs) using social Trend Analytics listening tools, delivering critical insights that drove the strategic 'No-Go' decision to mitigate commercial risks for new ventures. • Conducted competitive benchmarking of comparable entertainment apps to structure a data-driven pricing strategy for the world's first VR concert app, establishing a viable monetization model for a new product category. ### Global Product Marketing, Pre-MBA Intern, HYPERCONNECT (2021-05 – 2021-07) Seoul, South Korea · • Devised and deployed a targeted paid media buy on Disney+ Hotstar to address gender imbalance among dating app users in India, resulting in a 3% increase in female user acquisition. • Leveraged SQL and A/B testing to analyze user behavior and optimize ad creatives across paid acquisition channels (Meta, Snapchat, Google Ads), reducing CPI by 38%. ### Program Innovation & Development, Co-Founder, PSE 프세 (2020-03 – 2022-05) Seoul, South Korea · ・Co-founded a startup learning community, partnering with the Hyundai Asan Nanum Foundation to secure funding and infrastructure during the pandemic; grew it 0-to-1 to ~$90k in first-year membership revenue through community-led monetization. ### Product Development Coordinator, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (2018-07 – 2020-07) Seoul, South Korea · • Team: Korea Innovation Hub (R&D center to leverage K-beauty trends for the development of innovative products) - Estée Lauder APAC • Supported the project lead on MAC Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick, partnering with a leading Korean ODM to refine prototypes across texture, payoff, and shade, including on-site production color checks, through to final Global and APAC PD approval. • Analyzed consumer research and trend data to define region-specific shade assortments across multiple prestige makeup launches (Tom Ford, Too Faced, Becca), including 9 shades for Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Lipstick. • Managed pilot batch validation for Cream Compact Foundation and flagged critical scale-up failures, providing technical data that substantiated the strategic decision to cancel the launch. • Conducted in-depth qualitative research on Chinese beauty consumers via Tmall and Xiaohongshu, uncovering trends in texture, shade, and finish to deliver timely innovation insights for new makeup development. • Built a web crawler to track launches and customer reviews across Olive Young and cosmetic rating apps, addressing gaps in traditional CPG tools (e.g., Kantar, Nielsen, Mintel, Beaute Research) and identifying popular shades and purchase drivers to inform product strategy. • Analyzed business models of Gen-Z-focused startups in e-commerce, metaverse, and beauty to uncover new advertising and sales channels. • Researched and reported on dermatology treatments, CES-featured beauty devices, and trending skincare technologies, providing continuous updates to inform innovation strategy. • Facilitated APAC/HQ PD and R&D executive immersion sessions, mapping omni-channel customer journeys and presenting to senior leadership; recognized with the FY19 High Touch Leadership Award. ### Localization Special Project Intern, 신세계인터내셔날(Shinsegae International Inc.) (2018-03 – 2018-07) Seoul, South Korea · • Adapted product descriptions for a womenswear brand’s Southeast Asian e-commerce marketplace launch, transforming literal Korean-to-English translations into natural, concise copy while ensuring a consistent brand tone and identity. • Implemented an automation tool to bulk-convert product image titles into platform-compliant formats, reducing manual work and streamlining product uploads. ## Education ### Master of Business Administration - MBA in Business Administration and Management, General, UCLA Anderson School of Management (2021-01 – 2023-01) ・Finalist in Kellogg Design Challenge 2021 sponsored by Unilever ・UCLA Riordan Program Mentor ### Summer Institute in Modern Dutch Art, Utrecht University (2014-01 – 2014-01) One merit-based scholarship covered full tuition. ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Clothing & Textiles (Fashion Merchandising & Design), Ewha Womans University (2012-01 – 2016-01) • 1 merit-based scholarship (Spring 2014) and 1 leadership scholarship (Fall 2014). • Summer Exchange Program: Utrecht University, Netherlands (Jul 2014 – Aug 2014) ## Skills Product Development, Product Innovation, Product Management, Research, Business Strategy, Beauty Innovation, Cosmetic Formulation, Market Trend Analysis, Customer Insight, Ingredient Research, Color Analysis, TikTok Shop Marketing, Project Management, Program Development, Program Management, Vendor Management, Event Management, Content Localization, Process Automation, E-commerce Optimization, Paid Media Advertising, Community Building, Growth Hacking, Pricing Strategy, Localization, Tech Implementation, Creative Operations, Branding, Web Design, Stakeholder Management, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Process Improvement, Product Marketing, Strategic Partnerships, Go-to-Market Strategy, Operations Management, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience (UX), Innovation Research, Time Management, Communication, Creative Problem Solving, Graphic Design, Strategic Analytics, Data Analysis, Emotional Intelligence ## Credentials - **Professional Member** — Society of Cosmetic Chemists, California Chapter (issued 2026-01) - **Introduction to Cosmetic Science and Ingredients** — Procter & Gamble (issued 2025-09) - **Google Data Analytics Specialization** — Google (issued 2025-08) - **Google Project Management Cetificate** — Google (issued 2024-11) - **Google UX Design Professional Certificate** — Google (issued 2024-04) - **Project Management Professional (PMP)** — Project Management Institute - **Membership Certificate** — The Interaction Design Foundation (issued 2023-01) - **Python for Data Science: Fundamentals Part I Course** — Dataquest.io (issued 2021-10) - **Fundamentals of SQL I Course** — Dataquest.io (issued 2021-05) - **Dale Carnegie Course** — Dale Carnegie Training (issued 2019-01) - **Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)** — Scrum Alliance - **Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)** — Scrum Alliance --- Source: https://saywise.com/member4756 (last modified 2026-10-08T02:21:01.803Z)