Jami Morse Heidegger
Co-Founder of Retrouvé
Jami Morse Heiddeger was born in New York City where her mother Georganne, an elegant model, introduced her to film, fine art and theater. After serving in the Army Air Corps in WWII, her father, Aaron, began Morse Laboratories, a drug research and manufacturing facility in Hoboken, New Jersey, that was later taken over by eminent domain. Then Aaron joined forces at Kiehl’s Pharmacy with his father, Irving, a pharmacist. Aaron began to develop a unisex line of skincare products that became one of the most iconic brands of all time.
Jami studied at Harvard University and later moved to Austria as a fitness trainer for the Austrian Ski Team, which is where she met her future business partner and husband Klaus Heidegger, a member of the Austrian National Ski Team. In 1985, Jami and Klaus returned to New York City to help support the expansion and development of Kiehl’s, and by 1988, they were responsible for its entire operations. In the coming years, the couple brought Kiehl’s, by then renamed to Kiehl’s Since 1851, to such a level of success that they realized further growth would be best accomplished through stewardship by an even bigger brand. In 2000, they made the difficult decision to pass the torch to L’Oreal.
Having sold Kiehl’s, Jami turned her attention more fully to family while continuing to follow her passion for skincare and wellness. Developing skincare was not only a career choice but a lifestyle she thrived in and loved. After years of continued research, development and ingredient sourcing and in tandem with her chemist from Kiehl’s, Jami created specialized highly concentrated and potent products for her own personal use that she could not find in the marketplace.
In 2014, Jami and Klaus launched Retrouvé, an exclusive collection of prestigious gender-free skincare products that Jami had initially developed for their own personal use only. Retrouvé represents an anthology of over 75 years of collective experience, research, and collaboration resulting in a super-luxurious bespoke skincare line distilled from the family’s deep knowledge and revolutionary aesthetic vision of cosmetics. Since the brand’s debut, it quickly garnered attention from Hollywood’s A-listers, celebrity makeup artists, and tastemakers.
During this time, they also began to cultivate the land in Malibu that would later become Palms of Malibu Ranch, their permaculture farm that also supplies produce for Retrouvé.
In addition to working together, Jami and Klaus focus much of their time and energy on their three grown children while continuing their long-standing support of many charitable organizations and institutions. The Heideggers also serve or have served on the Board of Trustees, Waterkeeper Alliance; Board of Trustees, USC Gerontology Center; the Executive Board, founding member, Sierra Canyon High School Foundation; Cardiovascular Research Foundation of Southern California, Board Member; Campbell Hall School, Board Member; and MBT Board of Directors.