THE WHAT? Coty has promoted Laurent Mercier to Chief Financial Officer, effective February 15, 2021. The Deputy CFO will take over from Pierre-Andre Terisse from February next year, with the latter assisting in the transition until February 2021 when he will serve as a Coty-designated member of the Board of Wella.

THE DETAILS Mercier joined Coty as CFO of the Luxury division in 2017 from Danone, where he held a series of leadership roles.

“I am very excited to announce Laurent’s promotion to CFO,” said Sue Y. Nabi, Coty’s CEO. “He is a very capable leader who has been instrumental in the financial transformation of Coty during an extremely challenging operating environment, building a stronger, more focused and top line oriented business that’s set up for profitable growth. Laurent knows this business inside-out, playing a critical role in recent months in allocating resources and marketing investments behind the most promising opportunities. He brings a wealth of global experience, both from his time here at Coty and from high-profile leadership roles at Danone.”

THE WHY? The announcement follows the completion of the strategic separation of Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair business – including the Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands.