Alexandra Bokeyar

From a career in global finance that took her from Sydney to London and New York, to putting a Melbourne-born beauty brand firmly on the Formula 1 map, Alexandra Bokeyar has always known when to take the leap. Now, as General Manager of MECCA-Maginations,  the in-house incubator behind MECCA's owned brands, she has spent three years helping carve out a space for beauty in the world of motorsport, and if you ask her about women rushing from a MECCA MAX activation to grab their seats before lights out, you can hear the genuine thrill in her voice. We sat down with her to talk about the career journey that brought her here, the power of showing up where your community is, and why the future of F1 looks a lot more like her.

Explain your role as General Manager of MECCA-Maginations, the in-house brand incubator and innovation engine for MECCA brands.

I am lucky enough to work in MECCA’s owned brand portfolio, home to MECCA MAX, MECCA COSMETICA and kit. These are the brands you will find on MECCA shelves today, but we are also responsible for creating brands that will one day make it there too! We call ourselves a brand incubator as it is one thing to put a brand on the shelf, but you must build it. I work alongside entrepreneurial people who push the boundaries of innovation across product development, supply and ops, and brand marketing everyday. 

Can you walk us through your trajectory?

I started my career in the wonderful world of Finance, which I thought was important as I always wanted to run my own business! It gave me a strong skillset and led to a secondment in New York – which sparked a keen interest to move overseas. I then moved to London and worked for the dream company at the time, NET-A-PORTER, while Founder Natalie Massenet was still at the helm. I worked in Finance on the merger with YOOX and then Global Reward. 

It was during this time that I received a call from my former boss who told me about this beauty start up called Charlotte Tilbury. I was already aware of the brand, Charlotte had launched beauty on NET-A-PORTER a couple of months prior, and the company was just under three years old. I got the job and became their Global Director of Finance and managed teams across London, New York, Hong Kong and China over the five years I worked there. I was on the four person deal team who sold the brand to Puig in 2020 for the biggest beauty multiple ever achieved….at the time!

 I never really saw myself as a Finance purist, and thankfully my former CEO didn’t either. Her endorsement opened the door to my current role, where I’ve been able to bring  everything together that I have learned  in commercial strategy and brand building. 

What was your first job?

Aside from babysitting, my first casual job was at Oporto, all whilst keeping up my rowing!

What do you love about your job?

I get to see the best of beauty globally and work alongside creative people. I feel very lucky that I work in a place where there is never a shortage of incredible ideas and we get to dream up the art of what’s truly possible. I work with a great team, and I am surrounded by talented people who I get to learn from everyday, which I love. 

You’ve recently been involved in some game changing event partnerships like Australian Open AND, mostly exciting for our world, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix for your third consecutive year! Can you tell us how the partnership originally happened and why you decided to throw yourselves in so deeply to this unknown territory for beauty brands?

At the heart of everything we do is the customer. Our customers are our community. Our community wants us to show up where they are, and increasingly that is in the sports arena - which excites me immensely. We want to meet customers in the moments that matter to them, and what we are seeing is an appetite for live, in-person experiences. 

We are fortunate that we have strong relationships with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation  and have worked hard to evolve the  partnership with MECCA MAX, built over three years of hard work and continuing evolution.   The AGPC have been champions of partnering with our Melbourne-born, female-founded brand, which speaks to a genuine commitment to celebrate Melbourne and Australian brands, and ensuring there is something at the event that talks to a growing female audience. 

How have you found the world of Formula 1, working within it and it’s new and growing customer base - women!!

It has been a ride, and we love it! There is something genuinely exciting about being part of a movement – women are the fans, women are driving the growth of the sport here in Australia and they are just as invested and excited in the F1 as anyone!! Some of the best interactions we had over the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix period was engaging with the female fans who were getting a strong eye look done before rushing over to their seats to get an early glimpse of their favourite team.

Also – how good to be part of the Australian Formula 1 – where female attendance is the highest in the world! We are so proud to be there! 

How has the activation and partnership evolved and what do you see in the future for MECCA and motorsport/automotive, could it expand beyond Melbourne? 

Beyond the growth of the activation site and the footprint, for us it is how our partnership can help to educate and further amplify MECCA’s purpose of emboldening women through beauty. We want women to always have fair representation, and I love that we can work with incredibly powerful, global events such as the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix to continue to amplify female voices everywhere.

Do you see MECCA MAX as actively helping to shift the culture of F1, or are you riding a wave that was already moving?

I think it was the right time for both MECCA MAX and the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix -  we were able to work with AGPC to create something incredible beyond the traditional walls of beauty.  We brought a largely female audience who were already interested in F1, and they had an audience that may be new to our brand. We hope we played a small part in shifting that culture, and it continues to work really well for both of us!

What are the most important traits to look for when hiring a new employee?

For me, it’s always resilience. Our work is fast, it’s dynamic and energising but can also require a great deal of resilience – especially when you work in the magical world of product. Anything can happen! Being inquisitive and having a great attitude and good intentions, as well as a team player are also up there for me.

How does an employee make an impression on you? What traits make people stand out?

For me it’s all about how you show up at the times that matter – those that lean in, those that are willing to ‘roll up their sleeves’’, people who think through a problem and actively try to solve it. These people are real self starters, and they always impress me. 

How do you handle failure and setbacks/ How do you overcome challenges?

It’s hard – we are not perfect and we don’t like to fail. I am no exception! Personally, I like to take the time and space to think through what happened, reflect on my intentions and I dive into problem solving….I have never been good at standing still and waiting for things to come to me. When challenged, I try to always find the lesson from it – and with set backs I do pick myself back up and go again. Exercising and family time always helps! 

Has there been a pivotal moment in your career? Something positive or a challenge you experienced.

In the year leading up to the sale of Charlotte Tilbury, that was hard work – lots of work and lots of phone calls at all hours of the day and night. When the company sold though, it really changed things for me – it showed me I could cope with huge amounts of high pressure work, and it gave me freedom to choose what to do next. That was a pivotal moment for me.

How do you manage/maintain work/life balance? What are your methods or key tips to staying on top of everything

In all honesty my perfectionistic tendencies have led me to realise you just can’t stay on top of everything, and trying to do so comes with a price. I am not perfect at it, but I try and be clear about what my priorities are, make time to exercise and  to recharge – I am a firm believer in getting good quality sleep! I also surround myself with great people who fill my cup.

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?

It’s not really one piece of advice, but my Mum always told me that the world is my oyster – that I could do whatever I want to. I think having parents that encourage you to get out there and get going – dream big and work hard, is important. It never puts a limit on your potential, and in my case I am very grateful for that.