Jo Horgan

Jo Horgan is the visionary founder and co-CEO of Mecca Brands, Australia’s premier prestige beauty retailer. She launched the company in 1997, opening the first MECCA Cosmetica boutique in Melbourne using funds from selling her home.

Driven by a desire to “hand power back to women,” Jo created a retail experience centred on education, curation and customer empowerment.

Under her leadership, Mecca has grown into a beauty powerhouse with more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand.
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Jo’s bold entrepreneurial spirit earned her the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018 — an achievement that marked her as the first woman to receive the national honour.

Her journey began early: born in the UK, Jo moved to Australia as a teenager and later studied at the University of Western Australia before completing a communications master’s degree at Boston University.

She worked for L’Oréal in London, where she developed an appreciation for niche, cult beauty brands and began to imagine a different model of beauty retail — one driven by the consumer rather than traditional retail structures.

Jo’s commitment to innovation is also evident in Mecca’s store design philosophy. She describes her boutiques as modern, light and welcoming — “like a contemporary living room” — where the product truly takes centre stage.

Beyond bricks and mortar, Jo has a deep dedication to customer experience. She has spoken publicly about her mission “to make people look and, more importantly, feel their best.”

Today, Mecca operates three retail formats under her guidance: Mecca Cosmetica (luxury boutique), Mecca Maxima (accessible prestige), and the combined Mecca concept — stocking more than 200 international brands.