Coty has promoted Laurent Mercier to chief financial officer (cfo), effective February 15, 2021. He will also join the company’s executive committee and report directly to Coty ceo Sue Y. Nabi.
Mercier, who is currently Coty deputy cfo, will succeed Pierre-André Terisse. Terisse will assist in the transition until February, after which he will serve as a Coty designated member of the Board of Wella.
Mercier joined Coty in 2017 as Luxury division cfo. He is credited with increasing operating income by more than 50% in a two-year period, while maintaining mid-single digit like-for-like sales growth. He previously spent 20 years at food and beverage company Danone where he held several leadership positions. Mercier will work with Coty chief transformation officer Gordon von Bretten, who leads Coty’s turnaround program.
The announcement comes after a string of recent leadership changes. Last week Coty named Stefano Curti Consumer Beauty chief brands officer and promoted Alexis Vaganay to Consumer Beauty chief commercial officer.
Additionally, in October, the company named Isabelle Bonfanti Luxury chief commercial officer and Jean-Denis Mariani to the company’s newly created position of chief digital officer, which both went into effect November 1.