Chanel names Tod's GM as new President of Fragrance and Beauty

Chanel has appointed Simona Cattaneo as its new President of Fragrance and Beauty, replacing Anne Kirby, who announced her intention to retire earlier this year.

Effective January 2025, Cattaneo will join the luxury brand in October to start onboarding beside Kirby, according to WWD.

Cattaneo will join Chanel from luxury fashion house Tod's Group, where she has served as General Manager since October 2021.

Prior to this, she was President of Luxury Brands and Chief Marketing Officer at Coty, as well as SVP Beauty at Burberry and Director General of Makeup at Parfums Christian Dior.

"As a seasoned global business leader, Simona brings over 30 years of experience in the luxury beauty industry," Chanel told WWD. "She has managed prestige brands, built new businesses across product categories and led large transformations within complex global organizations based around the world."

The new appointment comes as Kirby prepares to retire at the end of 2024 after five years in the role.

Having joined Chanel as President of Fragrance and Beauty in 2018, Kirby also previously served as Directeur Général at Chanel-owned lingerie and swimwear brand Eres from 2015 to 2018.

During her tenure as President of Fragrance and Beauty, she has worked to strengthen the luxury house’s Fragrance and Beauty division, including the launch of its Comètes Collective in October 2022 – an initiative aimed at "accelerating the creative momentum" and diversity of Chanel’s makeup division.

The luxury house delivered total revenue of $19.7 billion last year, with its Fragrance and Beauty division experiencing "very strong growth" across all categories, particularly makeup.