Team S/O/S: Meet our Exceptional Advisors

The foundation of S/O/S was built around one unified team. We take pride in growing our organization and welcoming incredibly driven, collaborative and inspiring individuals who share in our mission to transform the space and make health and wellness essentials accessible to all women. Since the beginning of S/O/S, our exceptional advisors have helped to make that mission come true. 

We are thrilled to introduce you to our board of advisors, each one an expert in their own right, who have provided invaluable support and guidance along this journey.

Linda Wells - Journalist and Beauty Brand Founder

Linda Wells 35 years of experience in beauty as a journalist, brand founder and brand builder. While serving as Revlon’s Chief Creative Officer, she created and launched Flesh, a prestige makeup brand. Prior to Revlon, she was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Allure for 25 years. As Chief Creative Officer of Revlon, Inc. from 2017 to 2019, Wells had creative responsibility for Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Almay, CND and Sinful Colors.

Prior to Revlon, Wells was the Contributing Beauty Editor at Large for New York Magazine’s The Cut, and the writer and producer of “The Linda Wells Report,” a beauty magazine within issues of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Town & Country for Hearst publications.

From 1990 until 2015, Wells was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Allure magazine, allure.com, and the Allure video channel. Wells created the magazine for Condé Nast and grew its circulation to 1.2 million. As Editor-in-Chief, Wells created the Allure Best of Beauty awards in 1996 to help consumers find the most effective beauty products on the market. The awards generated a licensing business for the Best of Beauty seal, which cosmetic companies use in advertising and on packaging. Wells also brought e-commerce to Allure through partnerships with MasterCard and Quidsi. She also launched the Allure Beauty Box subscription service. Prior to Allure, Wells was a reporter at The New York Times, ultimately becoming the Beauty Editor and the Food Editor of The New York Times Magazine.

Wells currently serves on the board of Cosmetic Executive Women and has held board positions at the American Society of Magazine Editors, Fashion Group International, Trinity College board of fellows, and Mary Institute Country Day School board of visitors.

Wells contributes regularly to mixed media channels including the Today show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, CNN, Extra, E!, Sirius radio, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Women’s Wear Daily, Second Life, The Glossy Podcast, and more. She’s also been a featured speaker at the WWD Beauty Summit, the WWD Digital Summit, Procter & Gamble global marketing conference, Chanel US sales meeting and more.

Julian Chu - Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Expert

Julian Chu is a Senior Advisor to consumer brands, B2B enterprises and an investor in early-stage companies in the consumer, e-commerce, and digital advertising markets. He brings deep experience with technology-driven business innovation and growth. He was an Operating Partner at Castanea Partners, a private equity firm that works with founders of consumer passion brands to grow their businesses through a combination of capital and operating expertise.

During his tenure at Castanea, Julian pioneered the role of operating partner and led strategic initiatives in the areas of digital marketing and e-commerce for brands like Drybar, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Proenza Schouler, and MacKenzie-Childs. Previously, he was head of e-commerce for PUMA North America, the first head of Client Success for e-commerce software company Demandware, now Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and a business development and consulting practice leader in IBM’s retail/CPG industry group.

Julian began his career as a management consultant working at the intersection of business and technology at Mainspring, Cap Gemini, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Jeff Cripe - Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneur with a passion for Complex Business Development

Jeff is the founder and CEO of Cargo, a provider of advertising and commerce services to the rideshare industry. The company has raised $50 million in funding from Venture Capitalists and strategic partners including Founders Fund, Coatue, Kellogg's, iHeart Media and secured an exclusive global partnership with Uber.

Jeff was recognized as a member of the Forbes 2019 30 Under 30 and Adage 2019 40 Under 40 classes. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology and Project Art.

David Fontanilla - Business Owner and Capital Markets Advisor

David is the Founder and Managing Partner of Madison Paige Capital, a financial services firm that provides services to institutional investors in Fixed Income Sales and Trading. He founded Madison Paige Ventures, Maddie Cap’s venture arm, which primarily invests in early-stage companies who leverage technology to improve efficiency and processes in the direct-to-consumer and digital marketplace economies.

David has been involved in residential mortgage capital markets activities ranging from structuring, negotiating and executing portfolio acquisitions, dispositions and securitization to company acquisitions and public policy formulation.

He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and served on the Executive Task Force on Reverse Mortgages at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and the Board of Directors of and co-chair of the Capital Markets Committee of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). David is also a member of the Governing Board of The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture.

Kevin Leary - Multi-Generational Business Owner and Operator

Kevin is the owner and president of VPNE Parking Solutions and the Aloha Solutions Company.

His companies provide healthcare, parking, transportation, and guest services to the most prestigious healthcare, hospitality and real estate owners and managers across New England and Florida.

Over the last 30 years, Mr. Leary has grown the company to the highest rated staffing, parking, transportation and guest service provider across the Northeast region.