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GENEVA, Feb. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Firmenich announces the retirement of Armand de Villoutreys as President of its Perfumery and Ingredients business on June 30th, 2020 after a remarkable tenure of over 21 years with the company. The Group is delighted to appoint Ilaria Resta as President Perfumery and member of the company’s Executive Committee. Resta will join on March 2nd, 2020 and will officially take over the leadership of Perfumery on July 1st, 2020, following a smooth handover with de Villoutreys. Having most recently served as Vice President of North America Hair Care at Procter & Gamble, Resta joins Firmenich with deep experience in the Beauty, Fabric and Home Care markets globally. She brings an outstanding track record in delivering superior growth by building iconic brands, leading disruptive business models and developing a positive culture as well as winning teams.
“I warmly welcome Ilaria to Firmenich’s Executive Committee as President of our Perfumery business,” says Gilbert Ghostine, CEO, Firmenich. “Ilaria is an inspiring leader with a great track record of empowering people, building iconic brands and outperforming markets. With her deep consumer understanding and passion for fragrance and innovation, I am confident she will be a partner of choice for our customers to make their brands stronger,” adds Ghostine.
“I would like to sincerely thank Armand de Villoutreys who has served Firmenich remarkably over more than 21 years,” continues Ghostine. “Under his leadership, our Perfumery business deepened its strategic partnerships with our customers, while strengthening its innovation and creative signature. Loved by his teams, Armand relentlessly inspired them to win bigger for our customers. He leaves a strong and distinctive mark on the industry, as he played a leadership role in key fragrance associations, including IFRA and RIFM. I personally have the greatest respect for Armand, from whom I learned a lot over the years. I look forward to continuing our friendship in the future and wish him much fulfillment as he opens this new chapter in his life,” concludes Ghostine.
“I am very pleased to join Firmenich as President of Perfumery. Fragrance plays a critical role in connecting people with positive experiences and memories, which has been a personal passion for me throughout my career,” said Resta. “It is an honor for me to lead Firmenich’s Perfumery Business into the future, building on an incredibly strong base of renowned creativity, talent and pioneering innovation. In my new role, I will focus on continuously strengthening the Group’s leadership with the most loved and sustainable fragrances. I have the deepest respect for Armand and the Perfumery excellence he has built at Firmenich. It is with great esteem and admiration that I take the baton from him today to shape the future of Perfumery as a member of Firmenich’s Executive Committee,” she adds.
Resta joins Firmenich with more than 22 years of experience in building iconic brands at Procter & Gamble. She has held leadership roles across its Beauty, Fabric and Home Care markets in Europe, North America and globally. In her most recent role as P&G’s Vice President North America Hair Care, Resta delivered record growth results, led innovative digital and e-commerce programs as well as purpose-driven sustainable experiences, and received the esteemed WWD Beauty Inc 2019 Brand Builder of the Year Award. An Italian and Swiss citizen, Resta has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Economics from the University of Naples and a Master’s degree in Financial Mathematics. She will relocate from the US to Geneva with her family.
About Firmenich
Firmenich is the world’s largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895. Driven by its purpose to create positive emotions to enhance wellbeing, naturally, Firmenich has designed many of the world’s best-known perfumes and tastes, bringing delight to over four billion consumers every day. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, each year, Firmenich invests 10% of its turnover in R&D to understand and share the best that nature has to offer responsibly. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2019. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.