As Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Hugh & Grace, Ben Jensen challenges and elevates the status quo for skincare by presenting the first-ever line of hormone-safe self-care products.
He draws on acute business acumen developed by years of success as an executive leader across multiple categories, including private equity, real estate, and hospitality. With Hugh & Grace, he fulfills a personal mission shared by him and his co-founder and wife Sara Jensen.
As Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Hugh & Grace, Ben Jensen challenges and elevates the status quo for skincare by presenting the first-ever line of hormone-safe self-care products. He draws on acute business acumen developed by years of success as an executive leader across multiple categories, including private equity, real estate, and hospitality. With Hugh & Grace, he fulfills a personal mission shared by him and his co-founder and wife Sara Jensen.
“Our goal is to simply provide amazing products that work,” he explains. “The core mission is to shift the conversation around hormone disruption and chemical body load, so our products have been developed and designed to help as many people as possible.”
A born leader, Ben grew up in Las Vegas, NV as the oldest of six siblings, helping raise his younger sisters. He began his career in investment banking, handling advisory and structuring for various municipalities. Following five years in real estate, Ben would be accepted into graduate school at the University of Southern California, achieving his MBA and MRED [Masters Degree in Real Estate] by 2010.
After working at GE Capital as part of a sought-after leadership program in Norwalk, CT, he became Managing Director of Beverly Pacific, LLC in 2012. At this $1 billion-plus Beverly Hills-based holding company, he handled acquisitions and led real estate and private equity investments throughout various categories and asset classes. During this time, he spent three years as COO and acting CEO for Wally’s Fine Wine, Spirits & Gourmet Market, fostering and shepherding its transition from a traditional retailer to one of the most elite fine wine and dining experiences in Los Angeles.
In his personal life, emerging from a 14-year fertility struggle, he and Sara endeavored to use their story to change lives. It was their discovery that chemical body load and hormone disruptors and hormone disruptors can cause infertility and many other serious conditions that compelled them to take action to help others. After opening up about their journey, two of Ben and Sara’s sisters offered to be surrogates, leading to the birth of their children—a son Hugh and daughter Grace.
This incredible gift is the driving force behind Hugh & Grace, created not just to offer effective and safe product, but also to share and create a message of hope. Hugh means heart, mind and spirit. Grace means goodness, generosity and love. Together, they represent the soul of Hugh & Grace, the company, and Hugh & Grace, the Collective.
During 2019, they assembled a world-renowned advisory board and enlisted the talents of expert formulators to create Hugh & Grace. Launching Summer 2020 with a hero product trio, Ben translates his journey into the framework for Hugh & Grace.
“I love to take insights from disparate industries and apply them in unique ways,” he leaves off. “Sometimes, the best and most disruptive ideas come from outside of an industry. With Hugh & Grace, we’re marrying the most powerful form of marketing—word-of-mouth—with specialized technology and highly personalized learning and training. We have a special mission that needs to be shared. We are determined to invest in and reward the people who help this mission come to life.”
Outside of Hugh & Grace, he is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and sits on various boards. Most importantly, Ben dedicates as much time as possible to his family. As avid travelers together, he and Sara embarked on adventures around the world and love New Zealand, Thailand, South Africa, and Tanzania, and now with their little ones they take road trips and enjoy local cultural adventures.
