The Incoming CEO

• On Monday April 20, Coty announced the appointment of Elio Leoni Sceti as CEO, effective July 2015. Bart Becht, Coty’s interim CEO and Chairman since September 2014, will remain Chairman after Elio assumes the role.
• Elio, 49, currently serves as CEO of Iglo Group, a European frozen food company. During his time at Iglo, he successfully executed the “Better Meal Together” growth strategy and increased market shares for key brands like Birds Eye, Iglo and Findus within the Iglo Group.
• Leoni also worked at P&G and household product company Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in various marketing and senior management positions. The current CEO Becht and Elio Leoni’s career paths crossed at RB.
• Former CEO Michele Scannavini resigned for personal reasons in September 2014. He took the company public in June, 2013.
• Coty’s stock reacted positively on the new CEO announcement. The shares were up as much as 3% intra-day on April 20. Separately, Nomad Holding announced a proposed acquisition of Iglo Foods Holdings for $2.8 bn on the same day of Leoni’s appointment.

About Coty

• Leading Global Beauty Company. Coty is a global beauty company that owns over 70 brands in fragrances (55%), color cosmetics (30%), and skin & body care (15%).
• Growth Driven by Power Brands. Coty’s top ten “power brands” such as adidas, Calvin Klein, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, OPI and Philosophy account for around 70% of net revenue. In the past half year, these brands have sustained modest to mid-single-digit growth while the rest of business stayed flat.
• Declining Fragrance Business. In the recent FQ2 2015 earnings release, Coty’s fragrance business reported a 5% decline in revenue.

Key Things to Watch after the Announcement:

• Acquisition Interests.Coty’s further interest in acquiring P&G’s beauty brands. According to Reuters, Revlon, Henkel and Coty were all in discussion to make bids on some of its beauty brands.
• Corporate Strategy Execution. How Leoni further executes Coty’s corporate strategy of “investment in and revenue growth on power brands and return Coty to profitable growth behind efficiency programs”, based on his strong track record of corporate strategy execution, global brand building and marketing.
• Saving Coty’s Fragrance Business. If Leoni can stem the declining in Coty’s fragrance sale that represents the wane in celebrity fragrance brands. He is tasked to replace with growth in a competitive mass fragrance market.
• Fuel Growth in Color Cosmetics. If Leoni can enhance Coty’s strong growth in color cosmetics by leveraging his strong global branding experience.