Wella appoints three new executives
Wella, a global leader in the beauty industry, has appointed three diverse C-suite executives to its leadership team.
The company has a top professional and retail hair, beauty tech and nail portfolio of iconic brands including Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional, and ghd.
Virginie Costa joins Wella as global chief financial officer (CFO) - one of only seven women in a pool of 25 comprise CFOs leading global finance functions among the top 25 beauty companies. Gretchen Koback Pursel joins as global chief people officer, and Hugh Dineen joins as president of global brands and global chief marketing officer.
The appointments, effective immediately, underscore Wella’s growth plan, which commenced on 1 December 2020, when the company returned to independent operating status, led by Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts, a major investment firm that invested a majority equity stake.
Costa brings more than 25 years of financial management experience to Wella, along with a track record of developing winning teams. She has a wealth of global consumer and retail experience and has worked for Burberry Americas and Hermes. Costa also served as CFO for Godiva.
Koback Pursel has extensive experience running human resources for large global public firms. Most recently, she worked for Tiffany & Co, where she led the people agenda during the company’s transformation over her two-decade tenure.
Dineen joins Wella from MetLife, where he built a breakthrough marketing engine that leveraged digital to significantly accelerate business growth. He has also worked for Avon and Johnson & Johnson.
“As we pursue our goal of unlocking the full potential of our brands and our business, we are focused on building upon our strong foundation of sustainable growth, and are pleased to welcome Virginie, Gretchen and High to the leadership team,” said Annie Young-Scrivner, CEO of Wella.
“Their combined expertise across global public companies and their consumer, digital and broad-based business transformation experience will be invaluable to our organisation. The diverse perspectives and capabilities they bring to the company will be instrumental to guiding Wella Company’s next phase of growth.”
Young-Scrivner said Wella has delivered strong first fiscal year performance and that the professional salon community is rebounding from the pandemic.
“We could not be more proud of their strength and agility to come back stronger than ever,” she said. “Looking ahead, we feel confident that we’re well-positioned across our big bets: product innovation portfolio, significant investment in digital, and reaching more customers and consumers across new geographies and channels – retail, e-commerce and professional.
“With Virginie, Gretchen, Hugh and the rest of our leadership team, we are ready to unleash our ambition to be the best beauty company in the industry.”
The company has a top professional and retail hair, beauty tech and nail portfolio of iconic brands including Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional, and ghd.
Virginie Costa joins Wella as global chief financial officer (CFO) - one of only seven women in a pool of 25 comprise CFOs leading global finance functions among the top 25 beauty companies. Gretchen Koback Pursel joins as global chief people officer, and Hugh Dineen joins as president of global brands and global chief marketing officer.
The appointments, effective immediately, underscore Wella’s growth plan, which commenced on 1 December 2020, when the company returned to independent operating status, led by Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts, a major investment firm that invested a majority equity stake.
Costa brings more than 25 years of financial management experience to Wella, along with a track record of developing winning teams. She has a wealth of global consumer and retail experience and has worked for Burberry Americas and Hermes. Costa also served as CFO for Godiva.
Koback Pursel has extensive experience running human resources for large global public firms. Most recently, she worked for Tiffany & Co, where she led the people agenda during the company’s transformation over her two-decade tenure.
Dineen joins Wella from MetLife, where he built a breakthrough marketing engine that leveraged digital to significantly accelerate business growth. He has also worked for Avon and Johnson & Johnson.
“As we pursue our goal of unlocking the full potential of our brands and our business, we are focused on building upon our strong foundation of sustainable growth, and are pleased to welcome Virginie, Gretchen and High to the leadership team,” said Annie Young-Scrivner, CEO of Wella.
“Their combined expertise across global public companies and their consumer, digital and broad-based business transformation experience will be invaluable to our organisation. The diverse perspectives and capabilities they bring to the company will be instrumental to guiding Wella Company’s next phase of growth.”
Young-Scrivner said Wella has delivered strong first fiscal year performance and that the professional salon community is rebounding from the pandemic.
“We could not be more proud of their strength and agility to come back stronger than ever,” she said. “Looking ahead, we feel confident that we’re well-positioned across our big bets: product innovation portfolio, significant investment in digital, and reaching more customers and consumers across new geographies and channels – retail, e-commerce and professional.
“With Virginie, Gretchen, Hugh and the rest of our leadership team, we are ready to unleash our ambition to be the best beauty company in the industry.”
