Winnie Awa is an entrepreneur on a mission to build the next frontier of textured hair care. Famed as the Founder and CEO of Carra, Winnie provides her expert advice on textured hair and how to care for individual hair textures. Disrupting the status quo of the £90bn hair care industry, Winnie is giving a voice to marginalised people within the hair care industry, cutting out the guesswork and providing access to licenced experts on textured hair. Recognised by the likes of Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Sunday Times Style and Refinery 29, it comes with little surprise that Winnie is highly sought-after as a speaker for a range of corporate events, covering topics such as entrepreneurship, women in technology, diversity and textured haircare.
Having forged a highly successful career, Winnie’s career first began as an Analyst for IBM and later as a Senior Consultant for Ernst & Young. From that point on, Winnie worked with an exciting variety of start-up companies, helping to build cutting-edge consumer apps for the likes of ASOS, LVMH and NET-A-PORTER. Working as a Strategic Programme Manager for NET-A-PORTER, a Programme Manager for ASOS and a Product Management Consultant for LVMH, Winnie realised a passion for fashion and became the Co-Founder of andVerv, a London-based contemporary womenswear brand that premiered at London Fashion Week. Winnie is also the Founding CEO of Antidote Street, a global beauty marketplace for multi-cultural women that curates the best brands for multi- textured hair.
Determined to revolutionise the haircare industry, Winnie founded Carra in 2020, now working as Carra’s CEO. Honing her vision, Winnie created the hyper-personalisation platform that brings together expert advice and machine learning to offer custom routines for people with textured hair. Identifying the amount of time that people with textured hair spend on inappropriate and damaging routines, and the exorbitant amounts of money they spend, Winnie is determined to make the haircare industry a more diverse and inclusive place. Spearheading the launch of the Salon Manifesto for textured hair people, Winnie is also trusted by brands such as Professional Beauty, Dove, Tresemme, Unilever and GHD to share her expertise in creating haircare products for different hair types.
Recently named an InnovateUK Women in Innovation winner, Winnie has been recognised in various publications, cited in the book Palette and having contributed to Looking Beyond The Car In Front. Now booked as a speaker for a range of corporate events, Winnie is trusted by companies for her authority on diversity and inclusive haircare. If you are looking for an empowering speech from a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, don’t hesitate in booking Winnie Awa today!