NEW YORK — During his storied 36-year career at L’Oréal, Lindsay Owen-Jones has acquired a tall stack of titles and honors, including a knighthood. But on Monday evening, while receiving the International Leadership Award from the Anti-Defamation League here, Sir Lindsay became the recipient of a less formal, but equally heartfelt, distinction.
Referring to comments made by two of his closest friends, Maurice Levy, chairman and chief executive officer of Publicis Group, and Eugene Kummel, chairman emeritus of McCann Erickson Worldwide, Owen-Jones thanked them for “having tonight given me a new title — mensch — that I will henceforth carry with more pride than any other.”
During his speech, Kummel had defined the term as a person of substance possessing admirable characteristics, but the event echoed all evening with anecdotes of how the honoree had repeatedly shown moral resolve in doing the right thing.
The tone was set by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who noted that L’Oréal had had “some problems” in the distant past with certain individuals accused of anti-Semitic behavior during World War II. He then praised Owen-Jones as “a special individual” who made the difficult but needed repairs.
Levy of Publicis was eloquent in praising his friend’s sense of decency, integrity and strength of character. “He does the right thing for people and he does it naturally,” Levy said. “He does it from the heart, not the brain.” He added, “It’s all about people; this man cares.”
Owen-Jones, who took the helm as L’Oréal chairman and ceo in 1988, was later confronted with lingering rumors of a scandal that originated “before Lindsay was born,” Levy noted, adding that Owen-Jones confronted the issue by seeking the resignations of anyone responsible. “The fight to restore the honor of L’Oréal was more important than market share,” Levy observed. Similarly, rather than acquiesce to the Arab boycott like some other firms, L’Oréal became an investor in Israel — now owning 93 percent of L’Oréal Israel, formerly known as Innerbeauty. It employs close to 500 workers.
It was a part of the young ceo’s master plan to transform L’Oréal from a large French export firm to a global superpower by creating diversity in both management and brands.
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Owen-Jones said he was “profoundly humbled” by the tribute. He recalled being moved by the spirit and dedication to nation-building by Israelis on his visit there. “Our trip to Israel changed us profoundly,” he said, referring to himself and his wife, Cristina, “and left me with special feelings that surprised me by their intensity. I felt an immense joy in being so warmly and genuinely welcomed into the Israeli family. It went even beyond that: In sensing so palpably the exhilaration of our hosts in sharing their ideals, Cristina and I actually felt part of that community — and we loved every minute of it.”
Owen-Jones then revealed that one of the reasons he strongly favored the nomination of Jean-Paul Agon as the next ceo, expected to take effect in April, “was that I knew he felt as strongly about L’Oréal’s relationship with Israel as I do, and that he would undertake to sustain that as a personal commitment.”
Abraham H. Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director, presented Owen-Jones with a menorah. “This menorah signifies light over darkness, freedom over repression,” Foxman said. “May it remind you of the deep, warm, loving light you have given us and that we in small measure want to return to you.”