You’ll know her for her extensive work in the beauty industry – latterly as CEO of luxury vegan skincare brand, Orveda – and now Sue Y Nabi has an even more high-profile new job. Assuming the role of chief executive officer at Coty Inc from September, Nabi will replace Peter Harf, who will become executive chairman in a change announced just a month after Harf was appointed CEO. The (rather major) news comes after the beauty titan announced a $200 million deal to buy 20 per cent of KKW Beauty, Kim Kardashian West’s beauty line, on Monday.
“Sue is the greatest rock star in the business,” Harf said of his successor. “She is a fantastic CEO, entrepreneur and a sign of inspiration to young people of what’s possible.” Having previously worked as a L’Oréal executive for 20 years – she was president of both L’Oréal Paris (leaving in 2013), and Lancôme – she brings extensive experience with her to the new role.
In fact, as well as masterminding L’Oréal’s original “You’re worth it” campaign, Nabi has a number of other major business achievements under her belt. During her time at Lancôme, she drove double-digit sales growth in both the make-up and skincare categories, and signed Julia Roberts as the face of its now cult La Vie Est Belle fragrance. She also tapped Jane Fonda as a face, in a further coup for the youngest president in the company’s history. Nabi’s new appointment also makes her one of only two female CEOs among the top 10 beauty manufacturers.
The news represents a big step forward for diversity in the beauty business, not least because Nabi is a trans woman. She has always championed diversity (in terms of age, race and gender), and can be directly credited with the increased diversity in casting for both L’Oréal and Lancôme campaigns.
Her positive impact within the industry earned her a spot in the Vogue 25 list in 2018, alongside the likes of Amal Clooney and the Duchess of Sussex, and Nabi isn’t finished yet. With a CoverGirl revamp to attend to, plus expansion of both the KKW Beauty and Kylie Cosmetics beauty empires, Nabi – the embodiment of a modern day CEO – looks set to emerge from lockdown a very busy woman.
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