Coty Appoints New Chief Financial Officer Soraya Benchikh

Multinational beauty company Coty has announced the appointment of its new Chief Financial Officer, Soraya Benchikh.

The new appointment at Coty will take place on 1 September 2026. It has not been announced whether Laurent will stay on as an advisor. 

Laurent leaves after only nine years at the beauty brand. 

Welcoming a new era of finance

Soraya comes to the company after over twenty years at British American Tobacco (BAT). 

She holds, of course, two decades of finance experience in addition to numerous leadership roles over the course of her career. 

Soraya spent twenty years at BAT, leaving her position as CEO and Area Director for Southern and then East and Southern Africa to another leadership position at consumer drinks giant Diageo. 

In three short years, Soraya moved up as President of Europe for Diageo, before moving back to BAT as its Group CFO. 

Soraya Benchikh says: “Coty has one of the strongest portfolios in global beauty, and Laurent leaves the finance function in great shape. 

“I’m joining at a pivotal moment in Coty’s transformation, with a clear strategy and a real opportunity to accelerate it alongside Markus and the team. 

“My focus will be strengthening the balance sheet, sharpening capital allocation, and helping drive the next phase of sustained value creation.”

Soraya will report to Coty CEO Markus Strobel. 

Coty is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It has been under the leadership of CEO Markus Strobel since late 2025, after previous long-standing Chair of the Board Peter Harf stepped down after 30 years, and CEO Sue Nabi stepped down. 

The beauty company has its roots in France, as it was founded in Paris in 1904, and operates in over 120 countries. Its products include fragrances, colour cosmetics, skin and body care. 

Markus Strobel, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, comments: “Soraya is a seasoned global executive with a strong track record of financial and operational leadership, and she is the right leader for Coty’s next phase. 

“As we welcome her to Coty, I would like to sincerely thank Laurent for his leadership in strengthening Coty’s financial foundation over the past five years. He shaped a better finance organisation, built greater financial discipline and created a clear financial roadmap.”

Coty notes that the appointment follows a recent shift in operating structures which combined research and development with supply chain to make one function. 

Additionally, the restructuring brought “commercial decision-making closer to the markets Coty serves”, according to the company. 

Coty partners: 

Kylie’s Cosmetics: Coty have a majority ownership in Kylie Cosmetics, a makeup brand founded by influencer Kylie Jenner in 2015. Its current CEO is Carlos Mesquita, who has been with the company since 2022. Headquartered in New York in the US, Kylie Cosmetics is a makeup brand specialising in lip kits. Kylie sold her majority share of the business to Coty to the tune of US$600m in shares. 

SKKN:  SKKN BY KIM launched in 2022 as a premium, science-backed skincare and makeup brand founded by CEO and media mogul Kim Kardashian. Headquartered in California, US, the company focused on clean, high-performance formulas housed in sleek, refillable, minimalist packaging designed to deliver a luxury at-home skin regimen. It is now folded into Kim’s SKIMS brand, which bought out Coty’s minority share, under CEO Jens Grede. Jens also co-founded SKIMS with Kim. 

Zenith Media:  Representing major clients such as Sally Hansen, Disney, Aldi, Nestle and Tena to name some, Zenith is a media agency specialising in “Return on Imagination”.  It delivers creative media solutions to major clients using analytics,  data, performance marketing and content. It was founded in 1988 and is headquarters in London under the executive leadership of Gerry Boyle, Chief Client Officer for Publicis Groupe which acquired Zenith fully in 2003.

Pencil - Gen AI platform specialising in marketing.  The company has made more than 10 million ads since 2018, with an excess media spend of US$4bn flowing through it. CEO and Co-Founder Will Haschell has steered the company since its inception in 2018. The company aggregates AI models from providers such as OpenAI, Google and Adobe to ensure users get a range of use cases. Pencil’s mission is to aid companies in their mission to scale creatively and safely.

Perfect Corp: Technology solutions provider that uses augmented reality and AI to support brands with digital marketing. CEO Alice Chang has been at the company since the company’s founding in 2015. The app facilitates virtual try-on for products such as jewellery, fashion hair, watches and fashion accessories. It is headquartered in Taiwan, with over 800 brand partners.