L’Oréal USA Names Marissa Pagnani Chief Sustainability Officer for North America

L’Oréal USA today announced the appointment of Marissa Pagnani McGowan as chief sustainability officer for North America, effective November 2021. In this newly created position, McGowan will report to L’Oréal USA President and CEO Stéphane Rinderknech, who oversees L’Oréal‘s North America zone. McGowan will also join the US management committee and the leadership team of L’Oréal‘s global chief corporate responsibility officer, Alexandra Palt.

McGowan comes to L’Oréal from PVH Corp, one of the world’s largest global apparel companies, where she most recently served as chief sustainability officer. At PVH, she led a global team responsible for the inception and implementation of PVH’s corporate responsibility strategy. This work included priorities across environmental sustainability, human rights, social impact, responsible business practices, transparency, and fostering diversity, inclusion, and equity throughout the supply chain. She started her career as a lawyer focused on international mergers and acquisitions and corporate compliance with Skadden Arps in New York and London. McGowan received undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. 

“Marissa brings to her sustainability work a passion for the power of partnerships and collective action. She has an impressive track record of building sustainable business platforms and embedding sustainability principles into every part of a business,” said Rinderknech in a statement. “We aim to drive a complete transformation of our business – to be a leader and catalyst of change in the beauty sector and beyond. I firmly believe that we must act with even more urgency to address the social and environmental needs of the planet while preparing our business to meet the opportunities of our dynamic market.” 

McGowan said she is looking forward to “stewarding the sustainability work as part of L’Oréal USA’s next growth chapter, and to driving meaningful progress on the L’Oréal for the Future's transformation journey.” 

L’Oréal for the Future is the company’s 10-year sustainability transformation strategy. It embodies the two complementary dimensions of corporate responsibility: transforming the company towards an increasingly sustainable business model, and contributing to solving the challenges facing the world. Goals have been established for climate, water, biodiversity and natural resources.