Alumni

Alumna Michaeline DeJoria Named CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems

When Michaeline DeJoria was a young child, she once said, “I want to hurry and finish preschool so that I can graduate and start my job as the CEO of Paul Mitchell.” Today, she’s achieved that dream as the new CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS). Michaeline, who studied Merchandise Product Development at FIDM, is the daughter of John Paul DeJoria, the self-made billionaire cofounder of JPMS, which is the largest privately owned hair care company in the world.

“I think it was because of knowing the story of how my dad has created the business, and he held it with so much pride and so much honor, and it just meant so much,” Michaeline recently told Women’s Wear Daily. Also an alumna of Pepperdine University, she had humble beginnings at JPMS. She packed boxes on the warehouse floor before joining the marketing department, and eventually worked her way up to the title of vice chairman.

“To finally have this moment where it’s officially passed on, it carries so much deep meaning for me,” she added. John Paul DeJoria, who is now chairman of the board, credits his daughter with earning the position herself, and told WWD she led the company during Covid-19 crisis. “All we went through in 2020, she was steady as can be and an unbelievable leader,” he said. “If she did not qualify for this, she wouldn’t have the job. Somebody else would have the job. I don’t believe in promoting people because they’re a family member.”

Michaeline said she is ready to collaborate with other companies, enrich their education, and be innovative in everything they do. “Now I get to be the final vote on all of these crazy ideas that I have, which is very liberating and cool,” she said. “We’ve been in a pretty traditional model up until the last 10 years, five years, and I’ve made a lot of good progress, but now I really want to just go after the world and think outside the box.”

Portrait: Christian Veillet

Categories:  Merchandise Product Development Alumni