A true leader
Huda Kattan has made an incredible sacrifice, putting her business and her employees first during the current difficult circumstances that have emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dubai-based makeup mogul confirmed to Business of Fashion she would be forgoing her salary until the rest of the year. As well as Kattan, her sister and the beauty brand’s Co-Founder and Global President, Mona Kattan, and her husband Chief Operating Officer, Chris Goncalo, will be doing the same for the rest of 2020.
“Our employees are, and always have been at the heart of everything that we do here at Huda Beauty,” Kattan said in a statement. “We’re a family business and we consider each and every member of our team to be a part of our family.”
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Further discussing the current situation affecting people worldwide, Kattan admitted on the #BoFLive podcast she couldn’t “even think about selling products right now”.
Showing further empathy to those who are struggling, the makeup entrepreneur reflected on when she was first starting out in the industry. Kattan admitted she didn’t know how she would get by.
“I was living job to job…,” she said. “What if I had my daughter at that time and I was alone? What would I do for food, what would I do for rent?”
Kattan first launched her Huda Beauty blog in 2010, then three years later she launched her eponymous brand back in 2013 with her sisters and husband, offering a range of false eyelashes. Seven years on Huda Beauty now offers an array of makeup products, and just recently Kattan launched her skincare line Wishful.
Following the announcement she made to her team yesterday, Kattan admitted in a video posted to Instagram she was “overwhelmed with emotion” by the response she received.
“I feel like I spent all of yesterday crying,” she said. “For many reasons, my team is warm, appreciative and loving and so kind.”
Kattan went on to explain that many members of team reached out to her offering to forgo their bonuses, and some even offered to forgo a month’s salary.
The beauty mogul then sent a plea to anyone who was a company founder and was able to, to also forgo their salaries in order to protect their employees.
“The first thing that we should be leaning to is cutting our salaries instead of cutting jobs,” she said, but also added that she understand “every company is different”.
On a final poignant note, Kattan wished everyone well despite the scary and heartbreaking circumstances and encouraged everyone wherever they are to unite together to overcome this period of difficulty.
What an inspiration Huda Kattan is.
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Images: Instagram
