This has been a big year for change in the beauty industry. At the heart of that was the C-suite shakeup that took hold in 2025.
It began in January when, after a whirlwind 2024 of succession rumblings, brand declines and a pulled 2025 forecast, Stéphane de La Faverie officially became the Estée Lauder Cos.’ chief executive officer, taking the reins from longtime CEO Fabrizio Freda.
Though an outsider was thought to be a more favorable pick among some, analysts cited at the time de La Faverie’s institutional knowledge, relationship with the Lauder family, and brand-building abilities, including at Le Labo. It was also thought that an internal pick had the ability to hit the ground running, as an external hire would have had a lot of learning to do.
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That has certainly proven to be the case. Under de La Faverie, the company has been working to turn around its fortunes via its new Beauty Reimagined strategy and Profit Recovery and Growth Plan. In February, Lauder revealed plans to ramp up its restructuring program, part of the PRGP, and eliminate between 5,800 and 7,000 positions. Through Oct. 26, the company has approved initiatives totaling cumulative charges of $852 million and a net reduction of more than 4,000 positions.
In terms of building out de La Faverie’s C-suite, Aude Gandon was named chief digital and marketing officer, Jane Hudis chief brand officer and René Lammers chief research and innovation officer, amid a slew of other appointments. He also reconfigured the regional leadership model.
And financial results are finally starting to improve on both the top and bottom lines, with the beauty company, whose brands include namesake Estée Lauder, Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford, reporting net sales increased 4 percent to $3.5 billion during the first quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Industry watchers are also expecting some shifts in the portfolio next year, with de La Faverie revealing that it is under review.
It’s a similar story over at Ulta Beauty. Since succeeding Dave Kimbell as CEO in January, Kecia Steelman’s list of 2025 achievements include snapping up British beauty retailer Space NK, launching Ulta in Mexico and the Middle East, debuting a marketplace and scoring exclusives like Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s Cécred.
She also made changes to the wider C-suite: Chris DelOrefice succeeded Paula Oyibo as chief financial officer; Kelly Mahoney was named chief marketing officer; Lauren Brindley joined as chief merchandising and digital officer; Amiee Bayer-Thomas became chief retail officer, and Mike Maresca was tapped as chief technology and transformation officer.
Most recently, the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based retailer reported net sales increased 12.9 percent to $2.9 billion in its third quarter, primarily due to increased comparable sales, the acquisition of Space NK, and net new store contribution. Wall Street had penciled in $2.71 billion.
The following month there was yet more action in the sector when Unilever revealed that Hein Schumacher was out as CEO after less than two years in the job, a move that shocked the industry and prompted speculation about what might have led to his exit.
Schumacher, who joined as CEO in July 2023, was succeeded by Fernando Fernandez, a Unilever veteran who previously served as CFO and executive director. Since then, Fernandez has leaned into beauty, well-being and personal care, which he sees as key growth engines in a market that’s prioritizing experiences and self care. He expects two-thirds of sales to come from beauty and personal care in the medium term, according to media and analyst reports. Beauty and personal care currently generate around 51 percent of sales. In terms of the portfolio, several moves have already been made under his watch. That includes Unilever snapping up British deodorant brand Wild and men’s personal care and grooming brand Dr. Squatch, while it offloaded Kate Somerville to Rare Beauty Brands.
In April, as Shiseido continued to struggle, it was revealed that Ron Gee had departed his role as CEO of Shiseido Americas and global M&A leader. Alberto Noe was appointed interim CEO, Americas in addition to his current responsibilities as CEO, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and in November, this was made permanent. Noe has worked at Shiseido EMEA for more than a decade, beginning as CEO and president, Italy. Prior to that he was general manager, Lancôme Italy, and also had stints at Chanel and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Shiseido also revealed wider changes to the company. At the beginning of the year, CEO Kentaro Fujiwara took the helm, and later it was announced that Angelica Munson, chief digital officer; Tomoko Ikeda, chief brand and product innovation officer; and So George Sugitomo, chief creative officer, were among the handful of executives stepping down effective Jan. 1 2026.
In May, former Burberry and Nike executive Daniel Heaf succeeded Gina Boswell as CEO of Bath & Body Works, formerly part of L Brands, and is wasting no time as he looks to turn around what he refers to as a sleeping giant.
Heaf’s strategy, called the Consumer First Formula, aims to boost innovation in core categories and exit categories like hair and men’s grooming; reignite brand position through more targeted brand moments and deeper creator advocacy, and acquire new consumers by meeting them where they are. The latter will involve BBW launching on Amazon in 2026, after debuting in college book stores this year. He’s also building out his team with the appointments of Maly Bernstein as chief commercial officer, Samantha Charleston as chief human resources officer and Veronique Gabai as creative product and brand adviser.
It’s also been a big year of change at Procter & Gamble. Three weeks after the consumer goods giant said CEO Jon Moeller will retire on Jan. 1, with Shailesh Jejurikar becoming CEO, the company revealed big changes to its beauty division, too.
Alex Keith, largely credited with architecting the division’s success over the last decade, will retire as CEO for P&G’s beauty division effective Feb. 20. Freddy Bharucha, currently president, global personal care, was appointed CEO, P&G Beauty, effective Dec. 1. In this role Bharucha leads P&G’s $15 billion global beauty portfolio and is based in Geneva, Switzerland, where P&G’s European headquarters are based.
In July, Thibaut Mongon departed as CEO of Kenvue and stepped down from the board. Kirk Perry was named interim CEO, but last month Kleenex and Huggies owner Kimberly-Clark Corp. said it is acquiring Kenvue in a deal valued at $48.7 billion.
And in September, as part of its strategic review of its mass color cosmetics business, as well as its operations in Brazil, Coty named Gordon von Bretten, board member and former chief transformation officer, consumer beauty president, reporting to Coty CEO Sue Nabi. He will also lead the strategic review and join Coty’s executive committee. At the same time, Stefano Curti, chief brands officer of consumer beauty, and Alexis Vaganay, chief commercial officer of consumer beauty, stepped down from their roles.
Last but not least, an honorable mention to Amazon. While not a stand-alone beauty company or a C-suite position, the departure of Melis del Rey to Supergoop was significant. That’s because she is the Amazon executive largely viewed as transforming the platform into a mainstage player in the prestige beauty world.