Irena Eris (or, Irena Szołomicka-Orfinger, born 13 April 1950) is a Polish

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

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 () is one of the oldest and the largest medical schools in Poland. The first academic department of medicine was established as far back as two centuries ago in 1809. It is considered to be one of the most prestig ...

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 medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

at the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. She is the co-owner (together with her husband Henryk Orfinger) 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 Comité Colbert is a French association "to promote the concept of luxury." It was founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain, son of French perfumer Jacques Guerlain. The association has more than 100 members, most of which are French companies in ...

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

Kisiel Prize Kisiel Prize or Kisiel Award () 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 politician, Stefan ...

(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. It had a circulation of 95,300 during 2021. ''Polityka'' has a slightly intellectual, socially liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative ''Wprost ...

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

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, 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 ...

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 weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( ) 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 foreigners who made an outstanding co ...

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

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

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

Solidarity movement Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

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