Q; How do you hope Pixi continues to impact people’s lives beyond skincare and beauty?
A: Pixi is all about enhancing your uniqueness. Making sure you can look and feel the way you want. It’s really important to us to emphasize that everyone’s perfect just the way they are. Don’t change that. Let’s try something fun, let’s experiment, but let’s always keep the essence of who you are alive. That’s super, super important to us.

Q: What has surprised you the most about yourself on this journey from finance to e-comm to CEO.
A: Honestly, what surprises me most is that I ended up in beauty as it was never the plan. I came from sports, played gaming at a high level, then went into finance. Beauty is a big departure from all of that. What I’ve realized is that the same skill set works across industries. If you're a good person, honest, transparent, direct, and you do what you say you’ll do. It works, no matter the industry.

I'm not a beauty expert or a makeup artist, but I’ve built a great team around me that brings that knowledge. And that’s been a big learning, so many qualities and principles transcend industries. When I was younger, I used to think, Why would I join a beauty brand? I don’t know how to formulate product. But the business side applies everywhere.

And actually, one big advantage is coming in not ingrained in “how it’s always been done.” You bring fresh eyes, new ideas, different ways of thinking. I even have a rule on our team: we try to keep it 50/50, half of our insights come from beauty veterans, and half from people outside the industry. That mix of experience and fresh perspective keeps us innovating and evolving. There’s so much we can learn from other industries.

Q: What have you learned about running a family business that you think only experience can teach, and how do you navigate the personal and professional sides of working with family?
A: I get this question a lot, and honestly, it hasn’t been that challenging for me. Petra started the business when I was 11 years old. It basically paid for me to go to university, go to business school, and eventually join the business.

We have very different skill sets. Petra’s a makeup artist, a product developer, a creative, an incredible entrepreneur and marketeer. I’ve got a totally different toolkit because she sent me to business school.

My family’s the same way. One of my aunts is also a makeup artist, but super digitally forward and she runs our social media. My other aunt had a fashion distribution business in Scandinavia, so now she handles Pixi distribution. My uncle was a successful banker in Asia, so we brought him on board to run the finances.

What makes it work is that everyone has their lane, and we trust each other to own it. If it’s product, Petra decides. If it’s finance, I decide. It’s very clear who leads what, and that avoids a lot of clashes.

That said, when Petra and I do disagree, we go to my dad. He’s the tie-breaker. We don’t waste time fighting or dragging things out. It’s like, “Okay, we disagree. Let’s ask Dad.” He decides, and we move on. It’s a weird system, but it works for us.

Q: What personal values do you feel most connected to—and how do they show up in your work at Pixi?
A: I could never work for a business I don’t believe in. Petra’s mission - making high-quality beauty accessible is something I align with completely. That belief in democratizing beauty is a big part of why I’m here.

For a long time, there was this divide between prestige and mass, and not much in between. We’re trying to bridge that gap, offering high-quality products at a much more accessible price point. For me, it’s super important to be 100% aligned with a brand’s values. I don’t think you need to overcharge for everything. Great products shouldn’t have to come with a luxury price tag. You should be able to express yourself and enjoy beauty without it costing a fortune.

Q; What motivates you to continue evolving Pixi while staying true to its original vision?
A: We’re always looking to delight, surprise, and bring smiles to our customers, and there’s so much innovation happening in our industry and within Pixi.
Seeing someone light up when they use a product like our On-The-Glow Blush or the recently launched On-The-Glow Base, true innovations that actually work for them in whatever way, shape, or form they need, is why we show up to work every day. If you feel good, you look good. And if you look good, you feel good.

Q: What’s one decision you’ve made as CEO that you’re especially proud of and why?
A: There have been many decisions I’m proud of, but one that stands out was during COVID. Early on, we chose to keep everything going - no layoffs, no pause in R&D or marketing - because we viewed it as a temporary pause, not a fundamental shift in the economy. While many businesses took a short-term approach, we stayed focused on the long game.

That stability meant a lot for our team, especially in the U.S., where businesses often have to step in where the government doesn’t. Being able to provide some sense of security during such a tumultuous time made a big difference for our people and for the long-term strength of our business and culture.

Q: You started your career in finance, what led you to make the leap into your mother’s beauty business, and did you always imagine yourself becoming part of Pixi?
A: Joining Pixi was never part of the plan. There was no pressure or expectation from my mom. I studied business with a focus on finance, moved to New York, and started working just off Wall Street. But about six months in, my mom called and asked if I could help with the website. I’ve always had a tech background, so I jumped in and built our first site, did the graphic design, even started our Facebook account.

At one point, I realized I was making more money from the digital work I was doing at night than from my day job. So I quit my finance job, stayed in New York for a bit working remotely, and once the site was profitable enough, I asked my mom if I could build a team. She said yes, but I had to move to LA. So that’s how I ended up here, back in 2013.

Q;  How has growing up between Sweden, London, and now living in LA shaped your identity as a leader?
A: We're all a product of all our experiences. Living across different cultures from Sweden to London, LA, plus time in Argentina and Singapore, has given me a diverse understanding of people. Empathy is a big part of leadership, and being in so many different environments has helped me lead with calm and clarity. My upbringing exposed me to a lot of different cultures, so I’ve learned how to translate between worlds, literally and figuratively, and how to avoid the missteps that can happen when you don’t understand where someone’s coming from. That cultural fluency makes it easier to connect, relate, and lead with empathy.

Felix Strand isn’t your typical beauty CEO. With a background in sports, gaming on a high level, and finance, he brings a fresh perspective to an industry often steeped in tradition. As the CEO of Pixi Beauty, a true family-run business, Felix leads with empathy, clarity, and a dash of humor. In our conversation, he opens up about bridging cultures, navigating leadership through global uncertainty, and why staying grounded (and calling your dad for a tie-breaker) can be the key to long-term success.

It’s not every day you meet someone like Felix. Warm, unassuming, and effortlessly kind, he brings a rare mix of humility and decisiveness to the world of business. Watching him interact with his team, treating every member like family, is a powerful reminder that leadership can be both strong and deeply human.

Pixi Beauty: CEO Felix Strand on Empathy, Leadership, and Family Ties

Q: Can you recall a moment In your career that was particularly challenging but ultimately led to significant personal or professional growth?
A: Definitely our Pixie Pretties launch back in 2018. It was one of the first, if not the first, big influencer collaboration we did, where we took four influencers/creators, and created capture collections. Overnight, we launched into nearly 3,000 doors in America with these four capsule collections. 

It is still one of the biggest influencer launches, and it was also one of the first, and I think we're super proud of what we did there, because it was the beginning of the influencer movement where social media creators, became the new publishers, because they've essentially taken over the job of the magazines, the TV, the radio. We were very much in the beginning of that. It showed us how powerful collaboration can be when it’s rooted in mutual support and shared growth and figuring out what's happening in the industry. We're super proud about that.

Q: What grounds you when life feels chaotic or overwhelming?
A: Family, 100%. We’re a true family business. My mom, Petra, leads product development; my uncle handles finance in Singapore; my aunts run social and distribution; my sister oversees events in London. Working with family keeps you grounded. There’s no need for formalities, you can be direct, transparent, and not waste time.

And they’re the first ones to call you out. If you start getting a big head or acting a little too cool, they’ll smack you right back down. And honestly, everyone needs that sometimes. I think that’s been a big part of our success: staying connected, no matter where we are in the world, working together, and making something cool happen as a family.

Q: Since launching the Pixi mobile app, what changes have you observed in how your community engages with the brand, and in how you connect with them? 
A: We launched the app to give our most loyal followers and fans something a little extra. We saw it as a chance to offer more education, more value, and more touch points and things that can sometimes be harder to deliver through the website or other platforms. Our approach to interacting with the customer hasn’t changed. Our community has always been number one, but the app has opened up more opportunities to connect. It gives us more real estate to educate, engage, and add value in ways that feel personal and direct.

Q: Looking back at your own journey, what do you wish you had known when first stepping into the industry?
A: I can’t think of anything to be honest. Coming in with fresh eyes and a different perspective was actually a big advantage. This is an industry where a handful of big conglomerates control most of the brands. About eight companies own 90% of what’s out there. So not knowing the “rules” worked in my favor. I wasn’t scared. I didn’t know what I wasn’t supposed to do, which meant I was fearless.

Petra was the same. Everyone told her no, that you can’t move to America and start or grow a beauty brand in such a competitive space. But she did it. And we’re still here. That kind of naive wide-eyed optimism evolved into real fearlessness, and we’ve passed that on to our team. As long as we stay aligned and move forward together, we’ve found there’s very little we can’t do. Twenty-six years later, nothing has stopped us.

PRODUCTS USED

Grooming: Faina Rudshteyn
Hair/Beard: Kirill Hairfucker