Fable & Mane names Cécile Budge CEO, succeeding co-founder Akash Mehta

Fable & Mane, the London-based Ayurvedic haircare brand, has appointed Cécile Budge as its new Chief Executive, succeeding co-founder Akash Mehta, according to WWD.

Mehta will not step away from the brand, however, and will continue in his role as a co-founder alongside his sister Nikita.

Budge most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Nirvana Brands, Fable & Mane’s holding company, which she joined earlier this year. Previously Budge served as CEO of Omorovicza Cosmetics, and held senior leadership positions Shiseido and P&G Beauty and Forma Brands. 

Fable & Mane sells in about 1,250 retail doors across 33 markets, with stockists including Sephora, Selfridges, Cult Beauty, Nykaa and Douglas.

“My focus with the team will be to build on the brand’s unique positioning and relevance to reach new audiences globally and accelerate growth,” Budge told WWD. 

Mehta commented: “Leading Fable & Mane as CEO has been an incredible honour, but part of being a founder is knowing when the business needs something different from you. For me, this feels like exactly the right moment, both for Fable & Mane and for the next chapter of my own journey.”

He added that Budge “has the leadership and operational experience to take what my sister and I have built and help scale it into its next chapter, while allowing us to stay deeply connected to the vision and soul of the brand.”

The brand also recently appointed its first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, Rose Pilato, formerly the CMO of New York-based lifestyle and hospitality brand The Maker. "I've long admired Fable & Mane for its authentic storytelling, incredible products and how the brand fuses haircare with Ayurvedic wellness into modern beauty rituals," Pilato commented on a post on LinkedIn. 

Founded in 2020, Fable & Mane draws on the siblings’ childhood memories of their grandmother massaging their heads with plant oils. Its range began with its signature HoliRoots Hair Oil and has expanded to include shampoo, conditioner, masks and styling products.

In a July 2025 interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Mehta said: “What began as a passion project has become a global community. Seeing customers embrace oiling rituals and prioritise scalp care has been incredibly rewarding.”