Irena Eris (or, Irena Szołomicka-Orfinger, born 13 April 1950) is a Polish pharmacist, businesswoman and the founder of Dr. Irena Eris cosmetics company.

Life and career

She was born on 13 April 1950 in Warsaw. She graduated from the

Medical University of Warsaw The Medical University of Warsaw (Polish name: '' Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny'', Latin name: ''Universitas Medica Varsoviensis'') is one of the oldest and the largest medical school in Poland. The first academic department of medicine was creat ...

and obtained her doctorate in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. She is the co-owner (together with her husband

Henryk Orfinger Henryk Orfinger (born 28 June 1951, Warsaw) is a Polish entrepreneur. He is the president of the management board at the cosmetic firm '' Dr. Irena Eris'' and holds several positions in Polish business institutions. Together with his wife, Irena E ...

) and the founder of ''Dr. Irena Eris'' cosmetics company (1983). She is the research and development director, and has been in charge of managing a chain of spa hotels as well as launching new products and supervising the process of their manufacturing. ''Dr. Irena Eris'' is considered one of the most recognizable and popular cosmetics brands in Poland. In 2012, it was the only Polish brand accepted into the French luxury brands' association

Comité Colbert The Comité Colbert is an association "to promote the concept of luxury." The members are 81 French luxury brands. It was founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain. ''Métiers'' or Trade Sectors The association is divided into thirteen métiers o ...

. She has received numerous awards for her business activities such as Businesswoman of the Year (1999),

Kisiel Prize Kisiel Prize or Kisiel Award ( pl, Nagroda Kisiela) is an annual Polish award presented in three categories: publicist, politician/public figure and entrepreneur whose actions most closely portray the spirit and beliefs of the Polish publicist and ...

(2000), and Business Pearl (2003). In 2004, she was ranked in the Top 20 Most Influential Polish Women by ''

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. With a circulation of 200,050 (as of April 2011), it was the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of ''Newsweek''s Polish edition, ''Newsweek Polska'', and ''Wpr ...

'' magazine for "making significant contributions to business in Poland, breaking

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s as well as initiating new and creative ways of thinking." In 2005, she claimed second place in the ranking of 30 Most Effective and Trustworthy Entrepreneurs in Poland published by ''Home and Market'' monthly magazine. In 2008, she won the Polish Outstanding Exporter Award presented by the National Chamber of Commerce for pursuing an effective and consistent exports policy. In 2009, she was chosen as the Spa Personality of the Year by the readers and Internet users of the Spa & Wellness Magazine. Since 2001, she has been consistently ranked among 100 Richest Poles by the ''

Wprost ''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish-language weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.

'' magazine.

Other awards and distinctions

In November 2008, she became the recipient of the

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( it, Stella della solidarietà italiana ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or ...

. In 2014, she was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

and was nominated in the ''People of Freedom'' plebiscite organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the

Solidarity movement Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eris, Irena 1950 births Living people Businesspeople from Warsaw Polish company founders Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Polish pharmacists Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta