At its April 20 annual meeting, L'Oréal announced that Nicolas Hieronimus will replace Jean-Paul Agon as CEO on May 1. The move was reported months ago. Hieronimus will be the sixth CEO in company history. During his 34 year career with L'Oréal, Hieronimus has held a number of positions, most recently as the No. 2 executive at the 114 year-old company.

During the meeting, the board thanked and expressed its profound gratitude to Agon for his exceptional performance as CEO of L’Oréal since 2006. Agon was praised “as a visionary leader with outstanding human qualities, he has profoundly transformed the company and equipped it to face the challenges of the 21st century, in keeping with L’Oréal’s guiding principles.”

Under his influence, the group significantly reinforced its position as a global beauty leader and accelerated its value creation dynamic. In 15 years, L’Oréal increased its presence and its leadership in the world’s most dynamic markets, particularly in Asia. Agon also positioned the company at the forefront of digital and e-commerce. In the belief that financial and non-financial performance are inextricably linked, he mobilized all stakeholders in the company around his ambition to develop these two areas of excellence. The board expressed its gratitude for having made L’Oréal a financial high performer and an exemplary company in environmental, social, ethical and societal terms.