Kendra Bracken-Ferguson

About Kendra Bracken-Ferguson

As an innovative leader, transformative brand builder and best selling author, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson leads with the mindset of an entrepreneur and intrapreneur having built a business experience portfolio that expands entrepreneurship, in-house corporate leadership, brand development, strategic planning, operations, venture capital, board membership, and C-suite leadership. A trailblazing three-time founder with two exits, Kendra has raised over $50M for her own ventures and guided and monetized 200+ brands which have collectively generated more than $500M in revenue.She is the founder of the global conglomerate BrainTrust, consisting of BrainTrust Agency, a global brand marketing consultancy; BrainTrust Founders Studio, the largest membership-based platform for beauty and wellness founders; and BrainTrust Fund I, a $15M venture fund investing in beauty founders. She is currently the Co-Founder of LumiNicole Beauty, an alternative retail network, revolutionizing beauty and wellness distribution through vending machines, pop-ups, and immersive experiences in airports, hotels, colleges, and high-traffic destinations.Her first book,\"The Beauty of Success: Start, Grow, and Accelerate Your Brand\" was the #1 New Release in Business Entrepreneurship on Amazon. Since 2020, she has hosted Business of the Beat business podcast with over 200 episodes featuring insights & behind-the-scenes stories from top executives and founders navigating brand growth and exits across the beauty & wellness industry.Previously in her entrepreneurial career, she co-founded Digital Brand Architects in 2010 which later sold to United Talent Agency. She is former Business Partner of Halle Berry and served as the Interim CEO of rē•spin, a health and wellness platform originally launched in 2020 that she helped Berry create and launch. Shape Magazine said of Berry and Bracken-Ferguson;\"Two Black women doing something that hasn\'t been done in this way is exciting. We\'re democratizing the space for health and wellness information because the research, the education, and the access to people of color is disproportionate.\"Post pandemic, Kendra co-founded BeautyUnited, a nonprofit with the goal to make the beauty industry a more diverse and inclusive place. She was named US Black Chamber Power 50, Essence Magazine\'s “Inspiring Black Executives Redefining The Face Of Beauty”, named Glossy 50, Ulta Muse 100, advisor to Blushington, member of DealMakeHers. Kendra has an endowment at her alma mater, Purdue University for a Black female freshman student.

Experience

1. Board Member

   LYS Beauty

   May 2025 — Present

Education

• Purdue University

  Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Communications

  1998 — 2002

• Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University

  MBA, Business Administration

  2003 — 2006

Skills

• Corporate Communications
• Strategy
• Brand Management
• Marketing Communications
• Facebook
• Fashion
• Event Management
• Digital Strategy
• Marketing
• Mobile Marketing
• Social Media Strategist
• Search Engine Marketing (Sem)
• Public Relations
• Digital Marketing
• Editorial
• Online Advertising
• Blogging
• Social Networking
• Social Media Marketing
• Integrated Marketing
• New Media
• Online Marketing
• Digital Media
• Sem
• Event Planning
• Social Media