Core Summary

  • Sol de Janeiro, a skincare and body care brand, announced on Friday the appointment ofElaine Paik, former executive at Colgate-Palmolive,as Chief Financial Officer, and also appointed Laurie Lovett, former Nielsen executive, as Chief People and Impact Officer. In 2021, Sol de Janeiro became a majority-owned subsidiary of the body care retailer L’Occitane Group.Majority-owned subsidiary。
  • According to the press release, Paik will also oversee the company's legal and IT teams. Lovett will oversee human resources, social impact, and ESG matters.
  • The company said on Friday that both executives will report directly to CEO and founder Heela Yang. The appointments of Paik and Lovett mean that women now hold 71% of its C-suite positions. The company stated that these appointments "mark a key moment for Sol de Janeiro as it moves into its next phase after surpassing the $1 billion milestone."

Deep Dive

Paik joins the New York-based skincare brand just over a year after becoming CFO of plant-based meat company Impossible Foods in January of last year. According to her LinkedIn profile, she previously served as Treasurer at JUUL Labs and spent 25 years at Colgate-Palmolive in various senior executive and financial roles, including Vice President and Corporate Treasurer.

Lovett's LinkedIn profile shows she served as Global Chief People Officer at data analytics company Nielsen, Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Verisk Analytics, and spent 20 years at Accenture in various roles. She is currently also a board member of consulting firm West Monroe.

Sol de Janeiro said on Friday that the two executives join during a period of "continued growth momentum," with the brand's sales soaring last year. Founded in 2015, Sol de Janeiro quickly carved out a place in the rapidly expanding skincare and beauty market with products like its popular Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. According to a Fast Company report last November, the product became the best-selling brand at beauty chain Sephora.Best-selling brand。

According to financial reports released in February 2024, the brand's net sales for the full fiscal year 2024 reached €686.1 million, more than doubling from €267 million in fiscal year 2023.

L’Occitane Group stated in its report that Sol de Janeiro "achievedtriple-digit global sales growthand became the largest contributor to our profitability." L’Occitane, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, completed its privatization in October.Completed privatizationThe group attributed the brand's growth to new product launches and "continued strategic expansion of distribution, including entry into a major multi-brand partner in the United States, as well as wholesale channel performance exceeding expectations."

Sol de Janeiro declined to comment beyond Friday's press release. Impossible Foods did not respond to a request for comment on whether it has appointed an interim or permanent successor to Paik as CFO.