1996 – Beverly Hills, California
In 1960, young actress and model Paula Kent Meehan launched her business career, founding a small California based company called Redken Laboratories with an initial investment of three thousand dollars. The sales for the first year were ninety thousand dollars. More than thirty years later, Redken Laboratories is a leader in the professional beauty products industry and Ms. Meehan has emerged as one of the most respected businesswomen in America. Ms. Meehan pioneered the “Scientific Approach to Beauty”, based on her dedication to developing products compatible with the natural elements of hair and skin. She was also the forerunner in the concept of teaching chemistry to hairdressers, thereby enabling them to better serve their clients and generally elevating a career in hairdressing to that of a profession. Redken Laboratories also designed programs and trained hairdressers to successfully market Redken products in the salon, something unheard of at the time. In 1993, with sales at $160 million, Redken was sold to Cosmair, Inc., the U.S. licensee of L’Oreal. Ms. Meehan is president of her own investment company, handles her extensive real estate holdings and still finds time to travel throughout the country on her Gulfstream Ill, looking for investment opportunities. She is also preparing for the release of her autobiographical “how-to” book, sharing the secrets of her success. Recently she launched a successful new venture, the catalogue-based Boutique Beverly Hills. She also is chairman and president of Kenquest, Inc. and Timequest, Inc. Paula Kent Meehan has received countless industry awards. In 1992 she was named one of Entrepreneurial Woman magazine’s “Eight Most Powerful Woman Business Owners” and was selected as one of the “Top Fifty Women Business Owners” by Working Woman magazine.
