“L’Oréal’s governance is solid, perfectly in line with the challenges of tomorrow.”
Jean-Paul Agon - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Stable governance
The composition of the Board reflects L’Oréal’s shareholding structure and guarantees the interests of all its shareholders. Alongside the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, there are five directors who represent L’Oréal’s major shareholders, seven independent directors and two directors representing the employees.
The diversity and complementarity of the directors’ industrial, financial and entrepreneurial expertise equip them to quickly and thoroughly comprehend the development challenges facing L’Oréal, the leader of a globalised and highly competitive cosmetics market in which the need to innovate and adapt is crucial. Most of the directors have experience managing international groups at the highest level. In 2017, Nestlé Board of Directors Chairman Paul Bulcke joined L’Oréal’s Board as Vice-Chairman, replacing Peter Brabeck-Letmathe. The Board members represent seven different nationalities and 46% of directors are women (50% of the Committees are chaired by independent women directors).
A Board of Directors that fully assumes its responsibilities to provide strategic reflection and impetus
The Board devotes most of its time to strategic issues, to foster and accelerate the Group’s transformation into a more universal, more digital and more sustainable L’Oréal. The Board is kept informed throughout the year about the Group’s activities and results, its positions in relation to its competitors, market trends and the expectations of consumers all over the world. It examines acquisition projects and monitors the integration of recently acquired companies.
The Board members regularly meet with Group executives. This transparent and constructive dialogue culminates in a shared strategic vision, which gives General Management the confidence necessary for its implementation.
This year’s strategic seminar focused on the challenges facing Research and Innovation, at the heart of the Group’s growth strategy.
Proactive and committed directors
The directors are committed and proactive, driven by the conviction that stringent governance creates value for the company. They always keep the company’s long-term interests first in mind as they voice their opinions.
The directors play a tireless and dynamic role in the work of the Board and its four Committees, which actively contribute to preparing the Board’s deliberations.
The Board closely monitors changes in best practices and, to ensure that constant progress is achieved, carries out a full review of its modus operandi and organisation every year. It determines which topics to prioritise at this annual review, in line with its role to provide the impetus for L’Oréal’s long-term strategy.
Ethics at the heart of L’Oréal’s governance and commitments
The Board of Directors places great importance on respecting L’Oréal’s ethical principles – Integrity, Respect, Courage and Transparency – and more generally its Code of Ethics. In 2017, the Senior Vice-President and Chief Ethics Officer presented the ethics policy and the initiatives taken in this field, as well as their results. The Board considers these policies to be an integral part of L’Oréal’s growth model; it supports their implementation and regularly measures the advances made.
