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ActiveApril M profile photo

April M

About Me

I've spent my career making creative bets that pay off commercially. I founded Good Chemistry and grew it to $40M+, the #1 women's mass fragrance at Target with placement across Whole Foods, CVS, Walmart, and Anthropologie. Before that, I helped transform ILLUME from an $8M contract manufacturer into a design-first house of brands doing $100M across mass, specialty, and lifestyle channels. What I actually do: take an idea that doesn't exist yet and build the brand, the team, and the system around it. I've done that with 3,000+ SKUs, a 30-person multidisciplinary team, and a 97% hit rate. The creative part and the business part aren't in tension for me - that's the whole game. Right now I run a deliberate portfolio. I lead brand strategy for a growing CPG company while building SMRK®, a brand I'm founding from scratch with a close collaborator network. Turns out the best way to keep learning is to keep building.

Jurisdiction

United States

Experience

Seniority LevelExecutive
Years of Experience20+ years
Current StatusActive
VP Brand Marketing and Creative / GM Good ChemistryILLUME
2011 - 2025

Promoted through Director and Senior Director roles to VP and General Manager of Good Chemistry, leading brand, creative, product, and marketing strategy for ILLUME — a vertically integrated fragrance and design house. Drove company growth from $8M to $100M in revenue by transforming ILLUME from a contract manufacturer into a nationally recognized, design-led brand portfolio. Built and scaled an internal creative, product, and marketing organization of 20+, integrating brand strategy, design, and digital under one unified vision. Founded and led Good Chemistry, a clean, ingredient-transparent fragrance brand that became a top performer at Target and Whole Foods, achieving 200x growth and recognition on BeautyMatter’s Future 50 list. Expanded omnichannel presence, launching DTC and Amazon as top-five revenue streams while driving exclusive partnerships with Target, Anthropologie, West Elm, Magnolia, and CB2. Oversaw $5M+ annual marketing budget, aligning spend to measurable growth KPIs and margin improvement. Partnered with private equity ownership on brand strategy, category expansion, and enterprise value creation leading to multiple transactions. Shaped culture and retention, sustaining 50%+ team loyalty over a decade by designing systems that foster creativity, accountability, and growth.

Skills

Core skills10
Interests0
Languages1

Skills

strategic leadership & growth
brand architecture & market positioning
innovation & commercialization
omnichannel strategy & execution
team building & culture design
creative & operational integration
partnerships & growth acceleration
marketing
brand strategy
creative direction

Languages

English

Services