A new day dawns at Coty. Again.
One month after being named CEO of Coty Inc., Peter Harf is taking over as CEO.
Sue Y. Nabi, a former L’Oréal executive and most recently founder of Orveda skincare, was named executive director as of September 1. Nabi is the sixth executive director of the business since Coty acquired Procter & Gamble’s beauty brands five years ago. $ 12.5 billion. Critically, she is also the only one with a significant beauty experience.
During her 20-year tenure at L’Oréal, Nabi was president of both L’Oréal Paris and Lancôme, bringing her cross-channel and cross-category experience that Coty so far lacked.
Nabi will also be one of the two CEO women of the top 10 beauty manufacturers. At L’Oréal, she went through Youcef, and during her time she made an open transition leading both brands.
“Sue is the best rock star in the business,” said Harf. “She is a fantastic executive director, an entrepreneur and a sign of inspiration to young people of what is possible.”
The announcement ends a busy week for Coty, who announced a $ 200 million deal on Monday for 20 percent of Kim Kardashian West’s beauty business, KKW, and a concurrent licensing deal with the social media superstar to produce skin, hair and personal care. and nail products.
It was only on June 1 that Harf, a founding partner of Coty’s majority owner JAB, became CEO, intervening for Pierre Denis, the former CEO of Jimmy Choo, who was slated to take over the reins in early June. At the time, Coty said in a statement that Harf’s appointment “would instill urgency and generate results.”
Company experts said Harf and Nabi met about six weeks ago after a presentation from a mutual friend who thought Nabi could be helpful as an advisor. In his new role, Nabi will oversee all branding and licensing decisions, including the transformation of CoverGirl, the expansion of the KKW and Kylie Cosmetics businesses, and the acquisition and retention of talent.
A Coty informant said the top three priorities when Nabi takes the helm are “first, get in and stabilize the ship, and attract the best talent in the industry.” Second, the company is looking to Nabi to leverage its expertise with the brands that need its portfolio attention the most and “fix them quickly,” particularly CoverGirl.
Finally, Coty is looking for Nabi to strengthen his relationships with his licensees, including Kardashian West and Jenner, but also licensed for fragrances like Tiffany, Kering, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss. This has also been a point of discussion for Coty with some licensees. Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault has especially expressed his frustration with Coty’s pace in developing Gucci’s beauty business.
Nabi’s career at L’Oréal bodes well for Coty. She was the youngest president in the company’s history, and is credited with driving double-digit sales growth in makeup and skincare while running Lancôme, as well as launching the successful fragrance La Vie Est Belle and signing Julia. Roberts as his face.
He left L’Oréal in 2013 and launched the vegan skincare brand Orveda in 2017 with co-founder Nicholas Vu. “I discovered everyone outside of big business, a whole world of small brands and new business models,” he said when the brand was launched, explaining that the idea was to “really build something that has nothing to do with what it exists today and at the same time, be disruptive in a way that is very unique. “
Vu will continue to run Orveda regardless of Nabi. The brand is sold on its own website and on Net-a-porter, as well as spas in the UK, France, the United States, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany and Italy.
Coty’s experts said Harf is very excited about Nabi’s appointment, and has promised to give him the time and support he needs to transform the business significantly. “They believe this is going to change the company and the narrative, and it will make Coty a player in the cosmetic industry.”
