L’Oréal Canada CEO Awarded Knight of the Legion of Honor

The French Ambassador to Canada, Michel Miraillet, has awarded the insignia of Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honor to An Verhulst-Santos, president and CEO of L'Oréal in Canada. 

 

The ceremony to receive the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor took place at the residence of the Consul General of France in Montreal, Sophie Lagoutte, on May 11.

 

With the award, the French Republic recognizes Verhulst-Santos’ unique contribution, as well as her energy to strengthen the influence of France's excellence abroad.

 

“I am very honored to receive this prestigious decoration from the French Republic, and I would like to dedicate it to all the employees of the L'Oréal Group with whom I work on a daily basis,” said Verhulst-Santos upon receiving the insignia of Chevalier in the National Order of the Legion of Honor. “I am proud to be able to contribute to the expansion of France's foreign trade, of which the cosmetics sector is such an important player. This insignia motivates me to continue to promote French cultural and economic values on an international level.”

 

An Verhulst-Santos began her career at L'Oréal in 1991, in the professional products division of L'Oréal in Belgium, with the objective of developing the hair industry in a sustainable way and for the benefit of all. Between 2005 and 2009, Verhulst-Santos did an exemplary job as director of this division in Brazil. She launched the “Hairdressers against AIDS” project in the country, a global preventive education program of L'Oréal in partnership with UNESCO to promote health and prevent AIDS.

 

From 2009 to 2011, she chaired this division in the United States and worked on the integration of the SalonCentric project, L'Oréal's professional product distribution operation in North America. From 2011 to 2016, she was a member of the L'Oréal Group's International Executive Committee as President of the Professional Products Division.

 

Since 2017, she led a team of nearly 3,600 employees as CEO of L'Oréal Brazil, and on July 1, 2021, she became the first female CEO of L'Oréal in Canada, one of the multinational's largest subsidiaries in the world, ranking among the Top 10 of the 130 countries of the L'Oréal Group.