Revlon: Placing a Senior Director to Lead UK Prestige Beauty

1. Challenge:

Revlon's prestige division — anchored by the iconic Elizabeth Arden brand across skincare, colour cosmetics, fragrance, and travel retail — required a Senior Director Prestige UK to lead its UK commercial operation at a pivotal moment for the business.
Following a period of significant corporate restructuring, Revlon needed a leader who could do more than manage a P&L. They needed someone capable of restoring commercial momentum, building strong retailer relationships across department stores and travel retail, and operating with confidence in a complex, matrixed global organisation. The UK Senior Director would be central to Elizabeth Arden's repositioning in one of its most important markets, requiring a blend of strategic vision and hands-on execution.
The difficulty of the search lay not in finding strong candidates, but in finding the right one — someone with genuine prestige beauty credentials, the leadership presence to command internal and external credibility, and the resilience to lead through a business in transition.

2. Profile Needed:

The ideal candidate needed to bring together a rare combination of commercial depth and personal leadership qualities:

• Senior general management or commercial leadership experience within prestige beauty or premium consumer goods

• Deep knowledge of the UK retail landscape, including department stores, specialty channels, and travel retail

• Strong track record of managing cross-functional teams and navigating multi-stakeholder environments

• The ability to drive results through periods of organisational change and ambiguity

• A high level of emotional intelligence and executive presence — someone who could represent the brand externally while influencing effectively from within

• Experience managing a full P&L and delivering against commercial targets in a competitive category

3. The Search Process:

LS International conducted a structured UK market mapping exercise, targeting prestige beauty and broader premium consumer businesses where the right profile and experience were most likely to be found. Given the seniority of the brief and the specific combination of skills required, the search was designed for precision rather than volume — ensuring that every candidate presented had been rigorously assessed for both commercial capability and personal fit with the brand's direction.

Key elements of the process included:

• Thorough briefing with Revlon's senior hiring team to align on the profile, priorities, and non-negotiables before search commenced

• Targeted outreach to a carefully mapped longlist of prestige and premium beauty executives across the UK market

• Candidate video submissions alongside structured competency interviews, giving the client a richer view of each candidate's communication style and strategic thinking before committing to in-person meetings

• A competitive shortlist presented to the client, with detailed written assessments on each candidate's strengths, motivations, and fit

• Multi-stage interview process including senior leadership panels, ensuring full stakeholder alignment before any offer was extended

4. The Outcome

Angela was appointed as Senior Director Prestige UK at Revlon. She joins from UPSA, where she led the UK market as Head of UK, having built her career across prestige beauty businesses including GHD, Wella Professional, and L'Oréal.

Her appointment reflected a strong alignment between her leadership profile, her commercial track record in prestige beauty, and the specific demands of Revlon's UK business at this stage of its evolution.
The placement marks the beginning of an important new chapter for Elizabeth Arden in the UK — with the right leader in place to drive the brand's commercial recovery and long-term growth in one of its most strategically significant markets.

Key Learnings:

The right brief unlocks the right talent. The quality of the intake conversation with Revlon's hiring team was critical. A clear and honest brief — including the realities of the business transformation underway — allowed LS International to target candidates who were genuinely energised by the challenge, not just the brand name.
Assessment depth creates decision confidence. By combining video submissions with structured interviews and written candidate reports, the client was able to differentiate between a strong shortlist with clarity. The multi-stage process removed ambiguity and gave all stakeholders a shared view of each candidate before progressing.
Commercial credentials alone aren't enough at this level. Several strong candidates were assessed and passed over because leadership presence and cultural alignment were weighted equally alongside experience. The eventual hire reflected all three.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve your executive search objectives.

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State 2: Despite having an internal candidate, VidaCorp selected an exceptional external hire who brought the perfect balance of strategic planning expertise, financial modeling capabilities, and chief of staff skills to drive their multi-market growth while establishing performance rhythms for the organization.

Time Frame: 3 weeks