US. L’Oréal has confirmed that Laurent Attal will take over as President and CEO of L’Oréal USA, the group’s largest affiliate, effective 1 July.
He succeeds current L’Oréal USA CEO Jean-Paul Agon who, as previously reported, is returning to Paris to take up the role of L’Oréal Group CEO – replacing Lindsay Owen-Jones – in 2006.
“Enthusiastic, energetic and a great communicator, Laurent Attal is an excellent manager and a great team leader,” Owen-Jones commented. “I have no doubt that he will use these exceptional talents to take L’Oréal USA to new heights in the years to come.”
Attal received a PhD in medicine, specialising in dermatology, in 1984. A year later he earned an MBA from INSEAD business school in Paris.
He began his career with L’Oréal in 1986, managing several important business units in France before being appointed CEO of the Vichy International brand in 1994. In 1998 he was promoted to head the Active Cosmetics Division, which includes the Vichy, La Roche Posay and Innéov brands.
L’Oréal USA, headquartered in New York City, has annual sales of over US$4 billion and 7,600 employees. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the L’Oréal Group, based in Paris.
In other news, L’Oréal has confirmed that Marc Menesguen will succeed Gilles Weil (who is retiring) as head of the group’s key Luxury Products Division, effective 1 May.
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