So Coty, why London? CFO gives the relocation reasons…

Last week, Coty announced it was restructuring its organisation​ after the purchase of 43 of Procter & Gamble’s brands​, and with this came the decision to move its executive management offices to London.

Coty has already announced that it will continue to be incorporated in Delaware and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, which has led many to question, why the move to London?

Reasons​

Company CFO, Patrice de Talhouët explains that the executive management team will be based in London, and that the underlying reason for this is two-fold.

Firstly he says that Coty does not want the headquarters to be in the same location as one of the divisional headquarters, as they are fully empowered to drive the business, and it is ‘really important’ to remain fully focused with dedicated management teams.

So that rules out a number of locations that already house certain divisions within the company, but what was the reason for London in particular?

“We wanted to be in an area where we can also attract talent for the headquarters, and that is really from an infrastructure standpoint,”​ says de Talhouët.

“And so, clearly, London was an ideal location if you exclude Paris and Geneva where we have already headquarters of a division.”​

It is the company’s belief that being operationally located in London will allow it to more effectively operate as a global leader, with closer proximity to the company’s key strategic markets around the world.

Presence​

Coty already has a strong presence in the UK, with a regional HQ in Wimbledon and two factories in Kent. Its new headquarters joins the likes of Unilever and L’Oreal who also have a strong base in the city; and the UK is one of the most thriving markets in Europe.

The new HQ for Coty will include, but is not limited to, the office of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and Growth and Digital.

Bart Becht, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer , will remain at the helm for the time-being, based in London, and says that with the company in reconstruction mode, there will be a focus on upgrading the bench, particularly with the merger in mind, hence the recent restructure.

This has seen a number of external candidates employed where Coty believes it is best to complement the business and build a strong team for the long-term.

One of these new recruits is Camillo Pane, joining from Reckitt Benkiser, who takes on the role of Chief Growth and Digital Officer, heading up the new division based out of London.

The newly launched department, Growth and Digital, will be focused on accelerating growth and will regularly review the company’s portfolio strategy, focusing on working with each of the three divisions to improve its capabilities in innovation, sales and traditional and digital marketing.