Sue Y. Nabi Starts as Chief Executive Officer of Coty

Nabi opens new chapter by outlining priorities to employees and investment community

NEW YORK--()--Sue Y. Nabi, the highly experienced business leader and beauty entrepreneur, has officially taken over as Chief Executive Officer of Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY).

Nabi is a true veteran in the beauty space, with 27 years of experience across key strategic focus areas for Coty. This includes a track record of success across the mass and luxury channels, and across the core fragrances, color cosmetics, and skincare categories, as well as successful brand building across key international markets.

Nabi began her career at L’Oréal in 1993, where she rose to become the youngest ever CEO of L’Oréal Paris. In 2009, she joined Lancôme – leading the brand to three years of up-to-double-digit growth and a record turnover of €3.2b. With Nicolas Vu, Nabi co-founded the super-premium, clean and vegan skincare brand and range Orveda, launching in 2017. She was announced as the CEO of Coty in July 2020 as part of a leadership transformation at the Company, which will see her lead a newly streamlined and agile five-person Executive Committee.

Last week, Nabi spoke with Coty employees and senior leaders to outline her approach and priorities for the Company. She also joined Peter Harf, Coty’s Founder and Executive Chairman, and Pierre-André Terisse, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to share her views with the investment community during Coty’s Q4 earnings call.

Addressing employees during a Global Townhall, Nabi said:
“Today marks the beginning of a new and modern chapter in our story. We have a strong and unique foundation for success, with two well-positioned operating franchise models that mirror the world of beauty.

First, our mass franchise allows customers to access the latest trends and innovations, and to find the best quality at an affordable price. We want this to be the place for people to fall in love with the world of beauty.

Second, the luxury franchise gives access to exclusivity and iconic fashion brands at an affordable price. Luxury beauty will become the entry point for many to buy iconic brands.

Generally, our focus should be on the areas that are resilient in the current environment – whether that’s health-oriented beauty, skincare, direct-to-consumer (DTC) business and the Asian continent. I am convinced that our new world of DTC personality-led beauty has a bright future. With brands led by global influencers, we are reaching a large and data rich audience around the world. This is relevant for all our brands and extends beyond icons like Kylie and Kim Kardashian West. We will use the DTC environment to test, learn and leverage insights for other teams. I do not see any other company that combines these three powerful engines.

Coty will become a product-centric organization, entirely focused on our customers and our brands. Our best-in-class teams will operate in a safe environment, where everyone will be empowered and encouraged to express themselves and bring new ideas and concepts to the table.

I want you to think of this as a cultural shift more than a transformation – and one that we will shape together. It will not be easy, and we have no time to waste, but I am absolutely certain that our hard work will pay off and we will proudly look back at this turning point in Coty’s history.”

About Coty Inc.

Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, hair color and styling, and skin and body care. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, a strong number two in professional hair color & styling, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty’s products are sold in over 150 countries around the world. Coty and its brands are committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit www.coty.com.

About Sue Y. Nabi

Sue Y. Nabi is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Committee Leader of Coty Inc.

She is an Algerian-born French entrepreneur and innovator in the world of global beauty. With an Advanced Master's degree in Marketing Management from ESSEC (Paris Business School) and an engineering degree in Agronomy and Environment, Nabi’s unique business perspective arises in part from this unique combination of creativity and rationality.

Nabi began her career at L’Oréal in 1993, where her passion, ambition and talent for bringing brands alive would lead to her becoming the youngest ever CEO in L’Oréal history for L’Oréal Paris. During this period, Nabi perfected her signature recipe for success of strong innovation pipeline, disruptive packaging and finally a choice of diverse muses, both women and men, that people felt close to. Evolving the slogan of L’Oréal Paris to “because we’re worth it” cemented the brand’s inclusivity and after four years it was thriving in double-digit growth.

In 2009, Nabi was tasked with revitalizing Lancôme. The same recipe for success was applied to make Lancôme the brand of happiness, resulting in three years of up to double-digit growth and a record turnover of €3.2b, with the launch of the most successful fragrance of the last twenty years, 'La Vie est Belle', represented by Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, and now the second best-selling prestige perfume in the world.

In 2014, following a ground-breaking career at L’Oréal, Nabi joined forces with co-founder and friend Nicolas Vu to create a new product range and brand. After three years of meticulous development, Orveda was launched in 2017. Green, clean, vegan and genderless, powered by actives and not by marketing, Orveda is an empowering, new-age skincare range that is based on the science of glow and working with skin, not against it.

In 2020, Orveda is sold on Orveda.com and is present in the most beautiful points of sale or luxury spas and medi-spas in the UK, France, USA, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, Italy and Net-A-Porter.

Contacts

Investor Relations
Olga Levinzon, +1 212 389-7733
olga_levinzon@cotyinc.com

Media
Lisa Kessler, +917 - 348 - 3373
Lisa_Kessler@cotyinc.com

Arnaud Leblin, + 33 1 58 71 72 00
Arnaud_Leblin@cotyinc.com

Release Summary

Sue Y. Nabi Starts as Chief Executive Officer of Coty

Contacts

Investor Relations
Olga Levinzon, +1 212 389-7733
olga_levinzon@cotyinc.com

Media
Lisa Kessler, +917 - 348 - 3373
Lisa_Kessler@cotyinc.com

Arnaud Leblin, + 33 1 58 71 72 00
Arnaud_Leblin@cotyinc.com