Coty strengthens board with five new appointments

Coty has appointed five new independent directors as part of a comprehensive refreshment of its Board of Directors.

The new appointments bring extensive senior leadership experience from globally recognised companies, including Shiseido, Procter & Gamble, Ferrari, Bulgari, Pandora, Campari Group, Starbucks, Walmart and Sephora.

Collectively, they offer decades of expertise across prestige beauty, luxury and global consumer brands, with knowledge in fragrances and colour cosmetics, global brand building, digital commerce, financial management and large-scale business transformation.

Markus Strobel, Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, said: "This board refreshment marks a defining step in Coty’s strategic evolution. We are pleased to welcome an exceptional group of leaders whose experience spans some of the world’s most respected beauty, luxury and consumer companies.

"At a time when both the beauty market and Coty are rapidly transforming, these directors bring valuable new perspectives alongside proven expertise in prestige fragrance, global brand building, portfolio transformation and financial discipline.

"Together with our existing board, they will further sharpen our strategic focus, strengthen execution and drive sustainable value for our shareholders."

The appointments

Carsten Fischer (Independent Director) brings experience in global beauty and consumer goods, having held senior positions at Beautyblender, Shiseido and P&G. He has also served as a Non-Executive Director at Seiko Holdings and Kate Spade & Company.

Alia Gogi (Independent Director) is a senior beauty retail executive with expertise in omnichannel strategy and Asian market expansion. She previously served as President of Asia at Sephora. Her earlier leadership roles spanned Southeast Asia, Greater China and the Asia Pacific, with prior experience at A.S. Watson Group, Nestlé and J Sainsbury.

Robert Kunze-Concewitz (Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee) is a seasoned consumer goods executive who led Campari Group as CEO for 17 years, tripling sales and overseeing more than 25 acquisitions. He previously held senior marketing roles at P&G and currently serves on multiple international boards.

Maria Carla Liuni (Independent Director) is Chief Brand Officer at Ferrari, where she leads global brand strategy and the lifestyle division. She previously served as CMO of Pandora and held senior roles at Bulgari (LVMH). Earlier in her career, she spent more than 16 years at P&G’s Prestige Beauty division, managing major luxury brands.

Stephanie Plaines (Independent Director and Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee) is an accomplished financial executive with over 30 years of experience in consumer products, retail and real estate. She has served as Global CFO of Jones Lang LaSalle, CFO of US Retail at Starbucks and CFO of Sam’s Club eCommerce at Walmart. She has also held senior finance roles at Ahold Delhaize and served as interim CFO of JC Penney.

In addition,  current directors - including Strobel, Joachim Creus, Frank Engelen and Patricia Capel - will remain on the board.