Departure of CEO Laurent Marteau

Cosmetics group L’Occitane International, whose portfolio includes the L’Occitane en Provence, Melvita and Sol de Janeiro brands, has announced the departure of its managing director and CEO Laurent Marteau.

“The resignation of Laurent Marteau (who left the Group on September 16) reflects his desire to devote more time to his personal activities and other professional interests. Laurent Marteau has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the Board of Directors. There are no other matters relating to his resignation that should be brought to the attention of the company’s shareholders or the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,” L’Occitane International said in a statement on September 17.

A former member of the Swiss La Prairie group, Laurent Marteau joined L’Occitane International in August 2022 as CEO. In January 2024, the group, wishing to simplify its organisation, had announced that it was going to combine the functions of CEO and Managing Director into a single position. This new position was entrusted to Laurent Marteau, who had held it since last April.

In the meantime, the Board of Directors has created an Office of the CEO and appointed Reinold Geiger, Samuel Antunes and Ingo Dauer as its members. All three are now collectively responsible for the position of Group CEO, and will retain their current positions.

Reinold Geiger is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the company, while Samuel Antunes and Ingo Dauer hold the positions of Group chief financial officer and Group general counsel respectively.

As a reminder, the L’Occitane International group will delist from the Hong Kong stock exchange, where it has been listed since 2010, on October 16. Its majority shareholder, Austrian billionaire Reinold Geiger, is due to buy back all of L’Occitane’s shares.

In its 2023/24 financial year ended March 31, the cosmetics group recorded sales of €2.5 billion, up 24.1% at constant exchange rates. Its performance was boosted by that of the American skincare brand Sol de Janeiro, acquired in 2021.