Michelle A. Peluso has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, effective November 4, and will be joining the Company’s Board of Directors. Elizabeth (Liz) A. Smith, who has been serving as interim CEO and Executive Chair of the Board since August 2023, will continue in her role as Executive Chair.
Michelle A. Peluso has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Revlon
Michelle A. Peluso comes to Revlon with a wealth of experience. She most recently served as the Chief Customer and Experience Officer at CVS Health, where she oversaw the end-to-end consumer experience across all channels. She has previously held global Chief Marketing Officer roles at IBM and Citi, and CEO roles at digital commerce pioneers Travelocity and Gilt.
“Today we announced that I will be leaving CVS Health to become CEO of Revlon. It’s a dream job to lead such an accomplished team around the world to ensure the truly beloved brands of Revlon, Elizabeth Arden and the broader portfolio shine for the next generation of beauty shoppers. And I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started right here in my hometown New York City”, her LinkedIn post read.
Per WWD — ‘Peluso is inheriting her duties from Liz Smith, the interim CEO since August 2023, who will continue on as the board’s executive chair. Smith’s appointment came on the heels of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which cut more than $2.7 billion in debt and handed ownership to Revlon’s lenders. The resulting entity, Revlon Group Holdings LLC, had around $1.5 billion in debt at that time. As a result of the proceedings, longtime owner Ronald Perelman exited the company, followed by his daughter, then-CEO Debra Perelman. The company’s sales hit an estimated $2.1 billion in 2023 — a 5 percent uptick from the year prior — driven by strong performance of Elizabeth Arden in Asia, which offset Revlon brand declines.’
“It has been a privilege to undertake this transformation journey over the past year. With a clear strategic direction set for the company, strong progress on our transformation, a deeply talented leadership team in place and exciting opportunities in front of us, now is the right time for this transition,” Smith said in a statement. “Michelle is a terrific leader and brings significant retail and digital experience to Revlon that will be critical to our future growth and success.”
Revlon stabilises its operations
Revlon Group Holdings LLC has developed a long-standing reputation as a colour authority and beauty trendsetter in the world of colour cosmetics and hair care. Since its breakthrough launch of the first opaque nail enamel in 1932, Revlon has provided consumers with high quality product innovation, performance and sophisticated glamour. In 2016, Revlon acquired Elizabeth Arden and its portfolio of brands. Today, Revlon’s diversified portfolio of brands is sold in over 100 countries around the world.
Revlon is among the leading global beauty companies, with some of the world’s most iconic brands and products in colour cosmetics, skin care, hair colour, hair care and fragrances under brands such as Revlon, Revlon Professional Elizabeth Arden, American Crew, Almay, Cutex, Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Juicy Couture, Curve, Shawn Mendes and John Varvatos.
However, the beauty brand faced a lot of turbulence in the past few years. Per a statement in 2022, Revlon, Inc. filed voluntary petitions for reorganisation under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. This allowed Revlon to strategically reorganise its legacy capital structure and improve its long-term outlook.
“Consumer demand for our products remains strong — people love our brands, and we continue to have a healthy market position. But our challenging capital structure has limited our ability to navigate macro-economic issues in order to meet this demand,” said Debra Perelman, Revlon’s President and Chief Executive Officer, at the time. “By addressing these complex legacy debt constraints, we expect to be able to simplify our capital structure and significantly reduce our debt, enabling us to unlock the full potential of our globally recognized brands.”
The beauty brand emerged from bankruptcy protection as a privately held company with new owners, reduced debt and a new board. The company’s focus in 2024 has been to restructure its finances and reconnect with consumers. Revlon has doubled down on digitalization, invested in e-commerce platforms and is expanding its presence on social media to connect with young consumers. The management is hopeful that a focused brand strategy, combined with its efforts to innovate in product development, will help drive future growth.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
