Coty simplifies its leadership around its interim chief

Coty announced on 2 July that executive chairman and interim chief executive Markus Strobel will take direct control of commercial operations in its prestige division, with the division's regional commercial leaders now reporting directly to him. Research and development and sustainability for the prestige side move under the supply chain organisation, led on an interim basis by chief supply chain officer Graeme Carter, while Gordon von Bretten continues to run the consumer beauty division's integrated model.

Three senior executives are leaving. Caroline Andreotti, chief commercial officer for the prestige division, a roughly 20-year veteran of the company who has held the role for three years, departs at the end of September; chief scientific and sustainability officer Dr Shimei Fan leaves at the end of August; and chief people and purpose officer Priya Srinivasan departs in August for personal reasons. Séverine Charbon joins from Publicis Groupe, where she was chief talent officer for international markets, as chief people and purpose officer on 1 September.

The changes deepen the Coty.Curated turnaround launched in February this year. 'Coty.Curated is about clarity and focus, and a simpler operating model helps us deliver,' Strobel said. The strategic read is that Coty is being made legible. Its prestige arm holds fragrance licences including Gucci, Burberry, Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein, and collapsing its commercial leadership into the interim chief executive's office concentrates decision-making while the group works through a prolonged slump in its share price and persistent questions about the shape of its portfolio. A flatter structure makes each division easier to read for investors weighing the group's next phase.

What to watch is whether the operational reset precedes structural moves on the portfolio, who takes the chief executive role on a permanent basis, and whether the prestige business shows stabilisation when Coty reports results for the fiscal year that has just closed.

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