O'Brien has years of memories from her time in the industry, all of which have been integral to her growth and success.Courtesy of Cathy O'Brien's team.
06/12/25 Correction: O'Brien's title has since changed to chairwoman.
Cathy O’Brien has been building businesses for more than 25 years. Serving as CEO to leading holistic skin and body care brand Naturopathica, O’Brien sits at the helm of the brand’s Spa and Healing Arts Centers and product development. In addition to expanding the brand’s spa experiences and driving product innovation, O’Brien has taken the lead in training and certifying Naturopathica therapists in Oncology Massage modalities. With a comprehensive understanding of well-being and an uncanny business acumen, O’Brien has used her skills to navigate the cultural fabric in a variety of ways having started in the music industry representing top talent. During the pandemic, she added a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University and a certificate The Prevention of Domestic Violence from the University of Massachusetts to her robust portfolio.
KL: What was your first job in the spa/wellness industry?
CO: My entry into the ‘beauty’ world was when I joined Estée Lauder working for the Tommy Hilfiger business. I had always been a secret beauty product junkie—hoarding all types of makeup. While at Estée Lauder, I had the great fortune of meeting and ‘clicking’ with Jo Malone, as Estée Lauder had just acquired her brand. Most people aren’t aware, but Jo started as a facialist and not a perfumer. She created her own skin care and had a thriving private facial practice with her mother, cultivating a deep, loyal customer base. Her fragrance business actually started when she created a fragrant bath oil as a thank you to those clients as a holiday gift one year. Et voila—the fragrance business began. As we were building and growing the fragrance business in the US, we opened a free-standing store in the Flatiron building in Manhattan—and it had a small spa in it. I was the head of marketing for the business, and part of my role was to set up and open that spa. [I was] responsible for the look and feel of it, treatment protocols, what products to focus on—among other things. We did only facials and the fit of the facialist was so important. Jo was hands on. I also have a vivid memory of stocking the shelves of that store and spa on a ladder when I was very pregnant (as was she!)
KL: What is your favorite memory of your time working in this industry?
CO: I have a lot of great memories and new experiences that create memories that continue to happen. Anyone who is in this industry can tell you that. It’s full of positive energy and people wanting to do good. I have found my most recent years at Naturopathica plentiful with laughs, unified positive energy and true enjoyment around building something of importance. In 2023, I worked with Cassie Pahel, who is vice president of our spas, to envision and build a spa footprint for Naturopathica outside of the New York bubble it had lived in for its entire existence. We thought about our customers and our services and where it made sense for us to evolve and spread the word. Palm Beach and Aspen were natural fits and we embarked on making that happen. Along the way, we opened two additional high touch luxury Naturopathica spas in Manhattan and one in Phoenix. At the same time that year, I had the great fortune of meeting and hiring Amy Damiano as our head of professional sales. She has deep roots in the spa world, and a warm and thoughtful way about her, to build and nurture a killer team. It literally makes me teary to see these wonderful women building and growing our mission and message—sharing our healing vision. During this era, we, together, created and rapidly evolved our Oncology Care program, where all of our own service providers are trained and certified in oncology treatment care in order to touch and care for people who are going through cancer treatment (chemo and radiation). We subsequently offer these trainings to our professional spa partners. As an evolution of this, we partnered with Mount Sinai hospital in Manhattan and Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center to provide massage therapy services on site while patients are receiving chemotherapy.
KL: What do you love about spa and wellness?
CO: Everything. What is not to love? I like that now, in the zeitgeist, the idea of ‘wellness’ isn’t something that is aspirational or something that sits to the left of what a person does daily. Everyone knows about it and everyone is already doing it. ‘Wellness’ is consciousness about yourself as a whole. Body, mind, spirit—the food you eat, the friends you have, the amount you sleep. Do you laugh? Do you rest? Do you walk or exercise? Do you think about these things at all? There are so many ways to define it and to appreciate that you’re already doing it. Hygiene is wellness. Hair care is wellness. Walking or any kind of bodily movement is wellness. Socializing is wellness. Laughing, crying, conversing—all wellness. Faith and religious practices—wellness. I love that wellness can cost nothing and is accessible to everyone. It can be practiced in public or private. It can be loud or quiet. Singular or group. And when you are conscious of it, it gives you a sense of caring for yourself and valuing yourself as you are meant to be valued and cared for.
KL: How has being in the wellness industry impacted your life?
CO: Long term, it has made me more sensitive to the idea of being ‘well’ and being happy. I am aware of all things that impact my physical and mental well-being. Most literally though, is the positive impact and good fortune that I had last year when undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. Because of the work I do, I had the good fortune to be able to experience therapeutic massage after each chemotherapy session, which was highly beneficial to me physically and energetically. Additionally, I had access to potent healing skin care that helped my skin stay healthy while undergoing the ravages of the chemo and radiation treatments.
KL: What wellness trends are you most excited to try?
CO: I am committed to the thinking that ‘wellness’ is the unification of mind, body and spirit. With my experience last year with breast cancer, that approach is how I operate my life on all levels. There are a few things I have been incorporating into my life this year—first and foremost is a diet change. Post cancer, I gave up all meat and have been having a mainly plant-based diet with some fish. Lots of fruits and veggies. From an energy standpoint, I took a transcendental meditation course and practice this daily. Lastly, I guard my energy and have implemented clear boundaries with my time, energy and focus. I spend more time with myself rather than doing busy social activities, unless I feel there is a real reason for expending and taking in that energy.
KL: What’s the first thing you do after a long day at work?
CO: I am a meditator and a reader. For years I did a 10-minute morning ‘daily calm’ app meditation when I woke up. I always loved that I was able to carve 10 minutes out of the morning before I had to hit the ground for my kids. Now that my kids are off and out, I have a different kind of time. I learned transcendental meditation—which sounds a bit woowoo—but it really isn’t. It was an easy class—zero pressure. I learned how to go deep-fast and do a 20-minute morning meditation, and have added the after work 20 minutes, which has really been powerful. It’s a great bridge between the day and the evening. I also walk to decompress, so I’ll walk in the evening with an audio book to clear my head and change up where my thinking is.
KL: What’s your favorite wellness treatment to receive and why?
CO: I try massage treatments everywhere I go to see if there are different techniques to discover and to experience a unique approach to a treatment. I have a deep respect for massage therapists and know that most are healers and bring their energy and intentions to their work. I always feel so lucky to be receiving this from someone, and I look at each experience almost as a piece of art. Of course, a massage feels good but it’s more than just the actual physical touching—it’s the way they approach and connect and listen and respond. It’s actually quite special. So, if you are awake to it, when you get a massage, you are getting the healing massage touch and also receiving real healing energy channeled to you from your therapist. It’s magic.
KL: What’s your greatest accomplishment?
CO: Personally, my greatest accomplishment is the relationships that I have with my son and my daughter.
Professionally (and personally), it is the Oncology Care Program that I helped to create and then build at Naturopathica. With the rates of all types of cancers rising, there is a massive need for care while navigating this scary and devastating diagnosis and experience. Our Oncology Care Program gives people undergoing treatment the opportunity to be touched and healed during this vulnerable time, and gives them the chance to feel better. Adding to this experience was my own cancer diagnosis at the end of 2023 and my ensuing treatment through 2024, where I was able to experience firsthand how important what we are providing is. Our care program is in its infancy stage and has the opportunity to grow to serve an abundance of people in need. THIS will be my greatest accomplishment, as it grows and serves.
KL: What advice do you have for someone just getting started in the industry?
CO: There are many ways to be part of this industry and there is not one ‘right’ way to do it. Additionally, you can take numerous paths while growing in the industry. It is common to come in one door and then learn and grow and evolve in other capacities. Spa, wellness, health, skin care—there are a multitude of things to learn and master. Make sure that you are following your own heart, passions and most importantly, your gut. The people you work with and for are critical as these are the people you will learn with and from. Energy and culture are real, and critical elements for your growth and overall happiness. Pay attention to that. Be open to evolution and change of your own passions and path.
KL: What’s one thing you can’t leave the house without?
CO: A hydrating lip balm. I will go back and get it if I have forgotten it.
KL: What’s your guilty pleasure?
CO: A good NETFLIX binge. I used to say sea salt and vinegar potato chips, but post cancer—I can’t do that anymore.
KL: Who or what inspires you?
CO: Smart women who make it happen. All ages, all professions. I love seeing women engaged and passionate and achieving.
KL: How do you practice self-care?
CO: I try to be really patient and kind to myself. I tend to be a bit of a hard ass with my expectations, so I work on focusing and appreciating good things I’ve done rather than how I may think I could have done better. I also love to take baths with yummy salts.
KL: What is on your bucket list?
CO: Travel. The cancer thing, while a reality jolt and scary, did help me with priorities and a new sense of freedom. I am much more able to say yes to things and have been traveling a lot, with an immediate bucket list of Iceland, New Zealand and Australia (there are others.) I’m also prioritizing being with the people in my life. Theater, experiences—whenever something comes up that one of my people wants to do—I’m in. So, I guess my bucket list is really my to-do list.
KL: What's on the horizon for Naturopathica?
CO: Our vision and plan is to continue to evolve and provide our service offerings to professional spa partners around the country, enabling them to use our protocols, products and bring in our oncology care services. We are nurturing and growing our eponymous spas in Palm Beach, Aspen, Tribeca and East Hampton to hone and evolve our own protocols, and importantly, evolving our oncology care partnerships with Mount Sinai and Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, with an eye on forging other partnerships with other renowned cancer care hospitals around the country.
