Jennifer Weil
4 min read
PARIS — Lancôme has a changing of the guard afoot at its top echelon, with Françoise Lehmann deciding to step down as the L’Oréal-owned brand’s global brand president.
The executive, who began steering Lancôme in June 2013, is to be succeeded this summer by Vania Lacascade, currently L’Oréal chief innovation officer at the group’s research and innovation branch.
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L’Oréal said in a statement that Lehmann’s “sharp strategic vision, her pragmatic approach, her unwavering energy, her culture of proactive innovation in the service of women and her ability to lead teams have propelled Lancôme to the rank of the world’s leading luxury brand.
“L’Oréal Group wishes to express its deep gratitude for her immense contribution, her unwavering commitment and her tireless dedication to the brands she served and the teams who worked alongside her,” the company said.
While at Lancôme, which turns 90 this year, Lehmann has expanded the multibillion-euro business on many key fronts, while continually embedding an ethos of happiness and care in the brand’s core.
Under her guidance, Lancôme has built blockbuster franchises and launched new ones. Among the launches for skin care were the Absolue Longevity Cream, which taps into the focus on longevity today that’s about health span rather than age span.
Lancôme’s blockbuster scent franchise La Vie Est Belle has continued to top the charts, with its life-is-beautiful ethos that reverberates universally, as well as line extensions and refreshed advertising. Lancôme introduced Idôle, a fragrance targeting Millennials that was first fronted by Zendaya, in 2019.
The brand also partnered with fashion labels on makeup — with the likes of Proenza Schouler and Sonia Rykiel — while growing its color cosmetics product portfolio.
Three years ago, Lancôme inaugurated its rose domain in Grasse, in the South of France, which is farmed with ecological horticultural methods. The 9.8-acre site, called the Domaine de la Rose, was purchased in 2020 under Lehmann’s leadership. The estate with a pink building, cultivates other aromatic plants in organically farmed fields and includes ancient terraces as well.
Lehmann has a keen eye for talent, having most recently — in November 2024 — signed on singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo as a Lancôme global brand ambassador. And in September, Lehmann added British actress Nico Parker to Lancôme’s talent roster, as the brand’s youngest global brand ambassador.
