Ralph Lauren has named Patrice Louvet as the company's new president and chief executive officer. The American fashion label announced on Wednesday (17May17) that the French business executive will officially joining the company from 17th July.
Ralph Lauren appoints chief executive officer
As a member of Ralph Lauren's board of directors, Louvet will report to executive chairman and chief creative officer, designer Ralph Lauren, and the rest of the board. In a statement, Lauren said that he was "thrilled" that Louvet, who most recently served as group president for global beauty at Procter & Gamble (P&G), would be joining his team.
"Finding the right partner to work with me to take us forward in our evolution has been my primary focus over the last several months and I am thrilled that Patrice is joining our talented team," he shared. "He's an enormously skilled business leader with a deep passion for the consumer and a sophisticated understanding of building global brands."
Louvet succeeds former chief executive Stefan Larsson in the role, after he announced he was departing his post in February, following disagreements about the company's turnaround strategy. After joining in late 2015, Larsson pushed for severe spending cuts in addition to existing cost-cutting plans, following several years of tumbling sales and profit.
While Louvet is no doubt aware he has a big task in front of him, the businessman is looking forward to taking on the role, citing he has long respected Lauren's design skill and business acumen.
"Ralph is one of the world's greatest fashion icons and someone I have admired for many years, and it's an incredible opportunity to partner with him to continue to build on 50 years of heritage and innovation. The brand holds tremendous potential around the world and I could not be more excited to lead the next phase of development for this great company with Ralph and the team," he said.
Louvet has worked at P&G for more than 25 years, and has overseen several different multi-billion dollar brands across Europe, Asia and North America.
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