In the midst of a global reshuffling of its C-suite, Sephora is going all-in on a global executive.
Deborah Yeh, who currently serves as executive vice president, global chief purpose officer and chief merchandising officer of Sephora for North America, will transition solely to global chief purpose officer, effective Jan. 1.
Sephora Americas president and chief executive officer Jean-André Rougeot noted in a memo seen by WWD that “with her sharp strategic mindset and genuine passion for people and advocacy, we know she will shape our purpose journey into one that will be industry-defining,” adding that she will report to Guillaume Motte, the retailer’s newly minted global CEO.
Yeh will relocate to Paris to fill the job.
The move is meant to service the “fast-growing needs of her global purpose role,” but Rougeot added that “Deborah has been doing a tremendous job of playing a dual role both here in the U.S. and around the world.”
The search is on, both internally and externally, for a new chief marketing officer and the marketing team will report directly to Rougeot in the interim.
He also noted in the memo that “developing efforts around our global purpose is a top priority for Sephora.”
“Deborah has had an incredible ten-year career with us at Sephora, North America. She has helped transform Sephora into an inspiring, inclusive and educational beauty destination,” the memo continued, pointing to Sephora’s early signature of the 15 Percent Pledge and its own We Belong to Something Beautiful campaign.
Sephora revealed Motte’s appointment last month. Sephora, still prestige beauty retail’s sole global player, is contending with expansion and digitally adept competitors in key markets. Earlier this year Sephora re-entered the U.K. and it is also dipping into e-commerce in China.
As reported by WWD, sales at Sephora are expected to exceed 10 billion euros this year, according to industry sources.
Source: WWD