Luxury giant Chanel has appointed Simona Cattaneo as the new president of its fragrance and beauty division. She will start in January.
Cattaneo will join the house next month and will be on board with current president Anne Kirby, who is set to retire from the position by the end of this year.
The company described Cattaneo as a seasoned beauty executive, having worked at Tod’s Group as GM since 2021 and an executive at Coty from 2016, first as its chief marketing officer, before soon after becoming president of Coty’s luxury division, overseeing more than 20 brands.
Before joining Coty, Cattaneo had worked for almost four years as senior VP of beauty at Burberry. She was also the GM of the make-up division at Parfums Christian Dior and was the international brand director at L’Oreal for 13 years.
“As a seasoned global business leader, Simona brings over 30 years of experience in the luxury beauty industry,” said Chanel. “She has managed prestige brands, built new businesses across product categories and led large transformations within complex global organizations based around the world.”
Kirby’s departure follows the recent global executive changes in the company that saw several veteran executives exit after their long tenure with Chanel.