The Ordinary's Instagram-Happy Boss Is Not Done Creating Drama

The drama at Deciem, parent company of The Ordinary, continues apace with this update: word on the street is that Brandon Truaxe, the enigmatic CEO who treats skincare like a tech startup, has somehow availed the company of co-CEO Nicola Kilner.

Racked reports that Kilner and the CFO, Stephen Kaplan, are both no longer with the company. When Racked reached out to Kilner for confirmation, she responded to them via test saying, “Sadly yes. I’m too heartbroken to talk about it at the moment.” Truaxe has emerged as a strange and oversharing figure in the skincare community, having already spent the better part of 2018 taking over the company’s Instagram feed himself to post updates on products, give orders to distributors, and insult customers who expressed genuine concern for his well-being. Perusing their feed, it seems he’s chilled out for the moment.

See? He’s fine.

As he’s historically been an unpredictable whirling dervish with a propensity for self-sabotage, something tells me that this is only the beginning. What’s most confusing is the tone of the email Truaxe sent to Racked shortly after they published the news of Kilner’s departure from the company.

“I have terminated employment of several people at DECIEM who do not subscribe to my peaceful values,” he wrote to Racked. “I have also cc’d Estée Lauder’s management on here. I hope you’re well and smiling.” A genuinely kind sentiment or a chilling portent of what’s to come?