Member Spotlight — Emilie Valencia→
Founded by an operator
Success across borders is not a theory deck. It is someone who has already run the markets.
Book a discovery call Emilie Valencia · Founder29+
International markets
15+
Years in prestige beauty
3
Languages — EN · ES · FR
4
Regions worldwide
— Countries
From the operating career — countries and regions Emilie has worked across. Not the full 29+.
— Career proof · operating history
Brands, retailers, and marketplaces Emilie has operated over her career. These are not Passy & Partners clients.
Helping prestige brands enter Amazon US. Operating proof: she ran Amazon at L'Occitane.
— About
One operator, not a firm with a bench. Fifteen-plus years taking prestige beauty across borders — channel by channel, partner by partner, in 29+ markets across North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC. Previously Shiseido Americas, RéVive Skincare, Orveon Global, and L'Occitane Group, where she led Amazon, Ulta, Macy's, and QVC.
Emilie leads International and Travel Retail at (MALIN+GOETZ). Passy & Partners is retainer, project, advisor/board, and success-fee placement work built around that — senior judgment, on whatever cadence or deal structure fits, in English, Spanish, and French.
Highstock and Into the Seoul are proof of how she works, not extra jobs: an advisor seat where the network does the work, and a market immersion built because reading about Korea is not the same as walking it.
“We started Passy because I know what it is to take a brand across a border — and what it costs when the partner is wrong.”
— The reality
18 months
In our work, first distributor agreements often get reopened inside the first 18 months — because the framework was wrong, not the product.
Year one
The launches that stall usually stall on channel alignment: the wrong doors, the wrong price ladder, the wrong sequence.
29+
markets have taught us: the brands that stay are the ones that enter with discipline, not enthusiasm.
— Two doors
For emerging brands ready to go international, CEOs entering APAC, Europe, or the Middle East, and brands with distributors that aren't working.
Entering or fixing a market. Channel, distributor, travel retail.
Book a discovery call
Introductions and a serious commercial read, not a spreadsheet dump.
Book a discovery call— What we do
Tailored to your stage and market.
End-to-end planning for brands entering new regions — channel, pricing, positioning, and launch sequencing.
Sourcing, vetting, negotiating, and managing distributor and retailer relationships across prestige and travel-retail.
A monthly working session and async counsel on international, distribution, and travel retail — senior judgment on the decisions that matter, without adding headcount.
Retainer, project, advisor/board, or success-fee placement — scoped on the first call.
— Process
30 minutes. Where you are, where you want to be, and whether this is a fit.
The market, the channel mix, and the partners you already have in place.
A project, a monthly retainer, an advisor seat, or a success-fee placement — in writing, before anything begins.
Framework, partners, and decisions that stick — not a deck.
— Current work
October 12–15, 2026 · with Inspiration Excursions
A 4-day curated immersion in Seoul's beauty and retail ecosystem for brand leaders and founders. Direct access to the K-Beauty Expo, Olive Young, and Seongsu's flagship retail district. Includes the opening of K-Beauty Expo Korea (15–17 Oct, KINTEX).
Learn moreOctober 15–17, 2026 · KINTEX, Goyang
The trade show where Korean beauty is still a domestic market, not a trend report. Into the Seoul is timed to it — 12–15 October in the city, with the Expo opening on the last day of the trip. Direct access to the floor for brand leaders and founders on the program.
See you at KINTEXStrategic Advisor
Strategic advisor to Highstock, a tech platform that helps premium beauty brands discreetly place excess inventory with vetted buyers.
Visit HighstockK-Beauty Expo Korea · 15–17 Oct 2026 · KINTEX
The session is coming up this October. Slides will be posted here after the talk — connect on LinkedIn in the meantime.
Or book 30 minutes— Insights & press
Interviews and features on international beauty strategy.
CEW
Cosmetic Executive Women · Feature
Read moreSkinsational
Skinsational · Interview (Spanish)
Read moreAll You Need Magazine
All You Need Magazine · Profile (Spanish)
Read moreInspiration Excursions
Event feature
Read moreHighstock
Advisory mention
Read more— FAQ
— Book a call
30 minutes. No pitch. An honest conversation about where you want to take your brand.
Book a discovery callOpens Google Calendar scheduling.