Anisa Telwar Kaicker is the founder and CEO of Anisa International. She started her business in 1992 from a single brush – and has since created hundreds of state-of-the-art beauty tools through her passion for artistry and grassroots entrepreneurship. In 2003, she opened manufacturing facilities in China, a first-of-its-kind, environmentally-conscious operation that she wholly owns and operates – cementing it as the only female-owned brush manufacturer in the world. As a pioneer in responsible beauty, she was also the first to shift from animal hair to high-performance, man-made fibers, ensuring all Anisa brushes are cruelty-free and ethically made.

Her leadership in the beauty space has been recognized by Forbes, WWD, InStyle and beyond. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Beauty Matter Person of the Year, the Estee Lauder Supplier Excellence Award for Innovation, CEW’s Female Founder Honoree, and, most recently, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® 2024 Southeast Award winner.

Anisa is also a passionate philanthropist and social justice advocate. She is currently the chair of the LifeLine Animal Project and a board member of the Fernbank Museum of National History in Atlanta, Georgia.