Coty Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Coty Inc. has promoted Laurent Mercier to chief financial officer (CFO).
 
Mercier, who is currently Coty’s deputy CFO, has been with the company since 2017. He succeeds Pierre-André Terisse, with whom he has worked closely at both Coty and during their previous roles at Danone. Following Mercier’s appointment, Terisse will assist in the transition until February 2021, after which he will serve as a Coty designated member of the Board of Wella.
 
Mercier, who is based in Coty’s Amsterdam headquarters, will begin his tenure as CFO on February 15, 2021. He will join the Executive Committee and report directly to CEO Sue Y. Nabi.
 
Experience
 
Mercier joined Coty as CFO of its Luxury division in 2017, where he increased operating income by more than 50% in two years while maintaining mid-single digit LFL sales growth. He previously spent 20 years at global food and beverage giant Danone, where he held several leadership roles. Mercier will continue driving Coty’s turnaround program together with Gordon von Bretten, who leads the execution of Coty’s $600 million fixed cost reduction program in his role as chief transformation officer.
 
Commenting on the announcement, Nabi said, “I am very excited to announce Laurent’s promotion to CFO. 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.”
 
“It’s a great honor to become the CFO of this iconic business,” Mercier commented. “As a company, we are 100% focused on diligent cost control and reigniting sustainable sales growth, and we will continue to deliver on our robust financial commitments, including reaching leverage of ~5x by end of CY21 and less than 3x in the medium term.”
 
Other Personnel Appointments at Coty
 
The appointment of Mercier comes as Nabi has strengthened her leadership team with established industry experts. Coty recently announced two new leaders to drive its Consumer Beauty organization. The company has also recruited Isabelle Bonfanti as Chief Commercial Officer, Luxury, and Jean-Denis Mariani to the role of Chief Digital Officer.