Daash Launches Advisory Board to Deepen Industry Insights and Accelerate Growth

Anastasia Beverly Hills Veteran Dawn Francisco and Sarah Creal Beauty CFO Tina Gu Among the Leaders Providing Beauty Insider Expertise to Guide Product and Business Development

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Daash Intelligence, the AI-powered competitive intelligence platform that gives beauty brands access to weekly sales insights, today announced the formation of its Advisory Board, a group of highly respected beauty founders, innovators and thought leaders who will support the company’s strategic growth. Dawn Francisco, Tina Gu, Scott Kestenbaum, Amy Liu, Melissa Mao and Priscilla Tsai have all joined the group to provide expert guidance on issues such as emerging beauty market trends and ways Daash can enhance its data intelligence to better serve its partners as well as to foster industry relationships and collaboration opportunities for the company.

“Beauty and retail are dynamic, rapidly evolving industries where success requires having an intimate understanding of your clients’ businesses and needs,” said Philip Smolin, Co-founder and CEO of Daash Intelligence. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with—and supported by—such a stellar team of leaders. Their insights are informing our decision-making and helping Daash build new products that meet our clients’ needs, while also fostering strong relationships for us with brands across the industry.”

The formation of the Daash Advisory Board underscores the company’s commitment to creating solutions that help beauty brands compete more effectively. Input from members has already informed the company’s development of price tracking tools as well as advanced ingredient and benefit trend analyses that help brands respond quickly to shifts in consumer demand.

“Daash is table stakes for brands in the beauty category, where having access to real-time insights at the retailer, brand and product level is a true competitive advantage,” said Dawn Francisco, Daash Advisory Board member and former CRO of Anastasia Beverly Hills. “I’ve experienced the power of Daash’s platform firsthand on the brand side, and I’m excited to now be collaborating with this incredible team as a strategic advisor. In a crowded market, Daash is leveling the playing field for emerging beauty brands and unlocking new layers of insight for established global players.”

About the Daash Advisory Board

Each Daash Advisory Board member is well known in the beauty industry for their thought leadership, innovation and brand success. By enlisting this team of insiders, Daash is strengthening its position as the intelligence partner uniquely focused on the success of beauty brands navigating a dynamic marketplace.

• Dawn Francisco is a seasoned beauty industry executive with over 20 years of experience driving growth across retail, brand and direct-to-consumer channels. She is one of the few C-level leaders with a comprehensive background spanning major retailers, global beauty enterprises and high-growth brands. Francisco previously served as Chief Revenue Officer at Anastasia Beverly Hills, where she led global revenue strategy and execution. Prior to that, she was CEO of B-Glowing, GM/VP North America at The Estée Lauder Companies and VP of Marketing at Dermstore.
• Tina Gu, CFO and Head of Digital & Growth at Sarah Creal Beauty, oversees financial strategy and owns the brand’s DTC channel, growth marketing functions—including paid media, email and SEO/AEO—and analytics. Previously, she was Product Marketing Lead at Meta, where she focused on SMB and creator measurement, and held senior roles in M&A and global marketing at The Estée Lauder Companies. She has also advised early-stage beauty brands through launch, including Saie Beauty. Gu holds a BS in Information Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
• Scott Kestenbaum, Co-Founder and General Manager at Maesa, is a seasoned leader at the brand incubator behind brands such as Kristin Ess, Being Frenshe and Fine’ry. Kestenbaum oversees the Managed Brands group at Maesa and is responsible for growth strategies as well as new business development. He holds a BS in Biology and Society from Cornell University.
• Amy Liu, CEO and Founder of Tower 28, founded Tower 28, a skincare and beauty brand made for sensitive skin, in 2019. Prior to that, she served as a marketing consultant and marketing and finance instructor at FIDM. Liu also previously held marketing leadership roles at Josie Maran Cosmetics, Kate Somerville and Smashbox Cosmetics. She holds a BS in Economics from the University of California San Diego and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
• Melissa Mao, Chief Sales Officer at OSEA Malibu, is a seasoned beauty industry sales executive with experience driving domestic and global growth. She previously served as Vice President of Sales at SC Johnson’s COOLA brand, where she led sales across US and international markets. Mao’s earlier experience includes serving as Vice President of Sales at Earthlite, Inc., where she led sales across five global brands.
• Priscilla Tsai, CEO and Founder of Cocokind, founded Cocokind in 2015. Cocokind offers accessible skincare designed for sensitive skin and is sold at every Ulta and Target. She previously worked in equity research at J.P. Morgan. Tsai holds a BSE in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Daash’s Advisory Board launch follows the recent release of its brand new platform, My.Daash. Designed to optimize the user experience, the platform offers fully customizable insights, AI compatibility and advanced attribute intelligence covering ingredients, benefits, formats, finishes and more.

About Daash Intelligence

Daash is an AI-powered competitive intelligence platform that gives beauty brands unprecedented access to sales insights. With weekly SKU-level data, attribute filters spanning ingredients, claims, format and more, and coverage across all key retailers, Daash enables brands to track market trends and optimize real-time decision-making.

Daash works with leading brands including Sol de Janeiro, The Inkey List and Milk Makeup, helping them identify white space, benchmark against competitors and optimize pricing, forecasts and retailer strategies.

For more information, please visit Daash.co.