In a full-circle moment, Chasity Monroe has been recognized by her alma mater following her appointment as CEO of The Mane Choice.
Monroe is a proud FAMU Rattler and graduate of Florida A&M University’s School of Business and Industry. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration and credits the HBCU with exposing her to various industries and entrepreneurs working across different fields. Her career began at Procter & Gamble, where she worked with beauty and haircare brands in Clairol’s portfolio, including Nice ’N Easy, Natural Instincts, Herbal Essences, and Balsam, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
In 2022, Monroe ventured into entrepreneurship, drawing inspiration in part from her personal experiences with postpartum alopecia, she told AFROTECH™. She had also learned a great deal on her journey in college transitioning from chemically relaxed hair, which she had worn since age 5, to her natural texture. Through those experiences, she saw a gap in the market for products and brands that cater to textured hair. She founded Pink Noire Beauty Supply & Cosmetics, which she describes on LinkedIn as Memphis, TN’s only Black-owned beauty supply store.
“Every role since [Clairol] has definitely been one where I was either the first to be in the role or it was like super ambiguous,” Monroe said. “I didn’t choose the entrepreneurial life, the entrepreneurial life chose me, even through kind of my corporate experience. And so all that said, just being used to kind of the unknown and forging away is something that I’ve had the opportunity to do from a very early stage. When I birthed my own beauty retail business, I think it allowed me the lens to really get more deeply acquainted with beauty and the business of beauty.”
The Mane Choice
Monroe’s career trajectory has now led to her appointment as CEO of The Mane Choice, a multi-million-dollar pioneer in natural hair care and wellness, according the press release. Monroe noted in the release that she will guide the brand’s identity and refresh. Her responsibilities will include overseeing revenue growth, retail expansion (with products available at Target, Walmart, Sally Beauty, and Amazon), consumer engagement, and new product lines slated to launch in 2027. She will also oversee the refinement of signature product lines such as The Alpha Line and Tropical Moringa, as well as the direction of “full wellness regimens and groundbreaking hair growth technology.”
“This has always been really, really important for me, knowing how we value hair and how that can be a way of self-expression and bringing that science back into it,” she told AFROTECH™. “Bringing education is absolutely what has kind of been a driving force in me choosing to be in this industry and specifically in this type of role.”
Regarding the company’s future direction, Monroe commented:
“As we move into 2027, there’s even more technology, there’s even more knowledge, there’s even more that we can kind of infuse to modernize the brand. And that’s really why I’m here. To just carry it kind of to that next level and move it into where we are today. So it has great bones. … We see wellness really being kind of the mantra for a lot of Black women, for a lot of people in the textured hair community. And we want to make sure that folks understand that ‘Hey, we’re not just coming to you with different flavors, we’re coming to you with … a lifestyle that’s already being established amongst Black women.’”
Looking ahead, The Mane Choice plans to expand into specific care for concerns like postpartum, PCOS, perimenopause, and menopause. The company is also pursuing a technology patent that could be groundbreaking in the textured haircare space, Monroe noted.
Honored At FAMU
In a full-circle moment, Monroe was recognized as the inaugural Rattler CEO at FAMU during homecoming week, which also coincided with her teaching an entrepreneurship course at her alma mater titled “The Business of Beauty.”
Monroe further shared that The Mane Choice made a significant investment in FAMU. She did not disclose the exact amount but said the funding will support student scholarships.
“We have been making investments into HBCUs, not just with our talents and time, but also with our funds … As a company, we know that HBCUs are very important … We find that if we’re going to be coming and giving goodies, we also need to be investing in the actual institutions. And so that is work that we’ve started and will continue to do into 2027,” she said.