L'Oréal Canada is creating two new strategic leadership roles

L'Oréal Canada is creating two new strategic leadership roles: Corporate Affairs & Engagement Officer and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, to strengthen its commitment to these pillars.

Montreal, March 21, 2022 – For immediate release – Effective now, L’Oréal Canada will welcome two new members on its Management Committee, Solenne Lafeytaud, Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Engagement Officer and Marie-Evelyne Francois, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, announced An Verhulst-Santos, President & CEO. 

These two pillars, Corporate Affairs & Engagement and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, are very strategic in the leadership frame of the leader in the Canadian Beauty industry. ‘Building trust and protecting our reputation is of utmost importance to L’Oréal Canada, as is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. These two functions are absolutely strategic in bringing our sense of purpose, creating the beauty that moves the world, to life.’ said An Verhulst-Santos. 

Solenne Lafeytaud, Vice President, Chief Corporate Affairs & Engagement Officer for L'Oréal Canada, will be a member of the L’Oréal Canada Management Committee. She joins L’Oréal with more than 20 years of experience in the communications field, after having held several positions in Marketing, Sales and Human Resources. In 2005, she joined SAP where she most recently held the position of Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications, SAP Industries and Customer Advisory, on a global basis. Passionate, energetic, a good listener with great interpersonal skills, she will build the communications and stakeholder engagement strategies. ‘I am thrilled to join the leader in the beauty industry and contribute to making it the most trusted, loved and admired beauty company in Canada’ said Solenne Lafeytaud. Her Corporate Affairs and Engagement frame will focus on building strong external relations as well as reinforcing employee engagement, thus, boosting emotional loyalty towards L’Oréal Canada both externally and internally. 

Marie-Evelyne Francois, will assume the role of Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for L'Oréal Canada. She will be a member of the L’Oréal Canada Management Committee. She has had a rich and varied career within L'Oréal, joining the Group 22 years ago as a financial controller. She has held various positions within L’Oréal Operations, in plants, in manufacturing supply chain, and within the company’s distribution center, as Commercial Logistics Director and, most recently, as Supply Chain Director for the Active Cosmetics Division.  She has demonstrated cross-functional leadership qualities and an ability to instigate change, with emotional intelligence and the ability to rally key players. With strong, thoughtful, and sincere convictions, she has been involved in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues for many years now, playing the role of Lead in one of L’Oréal Canada’s DEI pillars and, with this new role, will continue the company’s journey towards more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for all. ‘I am honored to be given the opportunity to contribute to L’Oréal Canada’s mission of fostering workplaces where all people of every ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age or disability - visible or invisible - feel welcomed and valued’, said Marie-Evelyne Francois. 

-30-

About L’Oréal Canada

L’Oréal Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of L’Oréal Group, the largest cosmetics company in the world. Headquartered in Montreal, the company had sales of $1.38 billion in 2021 and employs more than 1,450 people. The company holds a portfolio of 39 brands, encompassing all aspects of beauty, and is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, salons, pharmacies, drugstores, and branded retail. L'Oréal Canada, whose operations are carbon neutral, supports the L'Oréal Foundation’s programs such as L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science, which has promoted the advancement of women in science in Canada since 2003, Beauty for a better life, a social reintegration program in hairdressing for immigrant women since 2017.

Media contact

Virginie Hotte-Dupuis

Manager, Corporate Affairs & Corporate Responsibility

[email protected]

514-287-4618