As of December 18, 2020, 7 of the 13 Directors on the multinational beauty company’s Board are women.
This past Friday Anna Adeola Makanju and Mariasun Aramburuzabala Larregui joined the Coty Board of Directors and Paul S. Michaels stepped down following a 5-year term. “I would like to thank Paul for his five years of service to Coty and his excellent contribution during this period. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” says Sue Y. Nabi in her remarks to the media this week. Nabi joined Coty this past September as CEO.
Commenting on the new Board appointments, Nabi says, “Mariasun and Anna are outstanding leaders who have already achieved so much in their chosen careers.”
And she goes on to highlight the enthusiasm that Makanju and Aramburuzabala both have for the industry and how well that aligns with Coty’s strategy for the years ahead: “What makes me particularly excited about their joining our board is that they are also deeply passionate about beauty. For a company like Coty, that aims to become the most product-centric beauty company, this passion is invaluable. I look forward to working closely with Mariasun and Anna over the coming years and harnessing their exceptional insights.”
Anna Adeola Makanju and Mariasun Aramburuzabala Larregui bring significant expertise and perspective to Coty Board of Directors
Aramburuzabala is CEO and Board President of the global venture firm Tresalia Capital. Based in Mexico, the firm’s current investment portfolio includes mattress startup Casper, ecommerce company GAIA, and the molecular testing company Miroculus. Beside Coty, Aramburuzabala also serves on the Boards of global corporations like Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo.
As noted in Coty’s press release about the new board appointments, she’s been named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Global Business and awarded Star Group’s “Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World” commendation.
Makanju specializes in global policy for both business and government. She is the Global Policy Manager for content regulation at Facebook. And her prior experience includes practicing “international law in the Hague and at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP and taught at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs” as well as serving “as a Special Adviser for Europe and Eurasia to then-Vice President, now President-elect, Joseph R. Biden, focusing on policy and engagement strategies with 51 countries, including Russia and Turkey. She has also served as a Senior Adviser to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and as Director for Russia on the U.S. National Security Council,” at the press release notes.
Women’s leadership in the beauty industry is on the rise
Many beauty makers are making efforts to include more leadership at senior and executive levels with an eye toward the 2030 target set for gender equality as part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Earlier this year, for instance, Natura &Co (the Brazil-based company that owns Aesop, The Body Shop, Avon, and Natura) announced plans to have 50% women in leadership by 2023 as part of its Commitment to Life, as Cosmetics Design reported. The commitment also addresses climate change, other issues of human rights, and circularity.
