Coty appoints new role: senior vice president of corporate affairs

21-Dec-2015 - Last updated on 21-Dec-2015 at 16:22 GMT

Coty executives have made the decision to create a new senior executive position putting Andraea Dawson-Shepard in the role of senior vice president, corporate affairs.

Reporting directly to CEO Bart Becht, Dawson-Shepard will principally be in charge of the communication and corporate affairs agenda as the company undergoes its planned expansion during the course of 2016.

“Andraea’s deep and global experience will make her an invaluable member of the Coty team as we become a true leader and challenger in the beauty industry,” said Mr. Becht.

Previously Dawson-Shepard has held senior communications positions at a number of major multinationals companies, including Carlsberg Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Cadbury Schweppes.

Building on massive expansion plans

The new position reflects the company’s huge expansion over the course of the last year, during which the company has more than tripled in size following the acquisition of a large number of beauty brands from P&G and Brazilian conglomerate Hypermarcas.

Both of the transactions are expected to be finalised by the second half of 2016, if regulatory approval by the relevant authorities is given.

Coty paid around $1bn for the Hypermarcas brands, boosting an already strong position in Brazil, while the P&G acquisition included over 40 global cosmetic and fragrance brands bought at an estimated cost of $12.5bn.

Complete business restructuring

On the back of the acquisitions, Coty announced a complete restructuring of its business operations and executive team, while also making the decision to relocate its executive management office to London.

The plan will introduce three new business divisions that will be category focused, while there will also be the creation of a new department called Growth and Digital, that will be focused on the development of new business across the three divisions, with an emphasis on digital marketing strategies.

Coty executives said that the plan to move its headquarters to London marked its further expansion into global markets, noting that London is better placed in the global market place, particularly as it is closer to faster-growing markets in the Middle East and Asia Pacific.