Born in Long Island in the 1960s, Ian Ginsberg was an aspiring musician when he decided to
pursue a career as a pharmacist. After attending pharmacy school in the early ‘80s and
obtaining his license in 1985, Ginsberg focused on creating his own niche in the family business at C.O. Bigelow – the landmark West Village drugstore that was (and still is) a fixture of New York City culture.
Hailed by WWD as the “Apothecary Guru,” Ginsberg is responsible for successfully ushering the multigenerational business into the 21 st century while still maintaining its heritage. He has also turned C.O. Bigelow into an illustrious, highly sought-after brand that’s recognized worldwide. Originally opened in 1838 and bought by Ginsberg’s grandfather in the late 1930s, the apothecary’s unmatched selection of global luxury beauty products offer a truly unique shopping experience that can’t be rivaled by the drugstore and beauty chains that now flood the city. An iconic beacon for hard-to-find favorites from around the world, C.O. Bigelow continues to attract some of the most famous NYC dwellers and visitors, including
Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Elvis Costello, Hugh Jackman, Liv
Tyler and Justin Theroux.
Ginsberg’s expert knowledge of what a true apothecary should be has not only kept the 186-
year-old business relevant, but has also made it the one-of-a-kind global phenomenon that it is
today. President of C.O. Bigelow, the third-generation pharmacist and businessman continues
to expand the family brand. The store’s website, cobigelow.com, carries the entire line of C.O.
Bigelow cosmetics and skincare products, as well as the coveted international items that stock
the shelves of the free-standing store. C.O. Bigelow products can also be found at Saks Fifth
Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and other prestige retailers around
the globe, as well as in luxury hotel amenity programs worldwide. In recent years Ginsberg
founded Bigelow Trading, a company that distributes multigenerational, family-owned
heritage brands such as Marvis, Proraso, Valobra and Carthusia to prestige retailers around
the country.
In addition to his business pursuits, Ginsberg is an active community member, speaker
and humanitarian. He is a board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Independent
Beauty Association, current advisory board member of Revieve and has been an advisory board member for BEBOE, Violet Grey, Zipdrug, and CollegeFashionista. He is a frequent guest speaker and has spoken at New York University’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial
Studies, the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of Long
Island University, WWD Beauty Summit, HBA Global, CEW, FounderMade, Cosmoprof and the
Downtown Project. Ginsberg is involved in many philanthropic activities including Memories
Matter and Pink Promises, 2 charities he founded with his wife Stephanie to benefit the
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation
respectively.