PARIS — Lancôme has a changing of the guard afoot at its top echelon, with Françoise Lehmann deciding to step down as the L’Oréal-owned brand’s global brand president. 

The executive, who began steering Lancôme in June 2013, is to be succeeded this summer by Vania Lacascade, currently L’Oréal chief innovation officer at the group’s research and innovation branch.

L’Oréal said in a statement that Lehmann’s “sharp strategic vision, her pragmatic approach, her unwavering energy, her culture of proactive innovation in the service of women and her ability to lead teams have propelled Lancôme to the rank of the world’s leading luxury brand.

“L’Oréal Group wishes to express its deep gratitude for her immense contribution, her unwavering commitment and her tireless dedication to the brands she served and the teams who worked alongside her,” the company said.

While at Lancôme, which turns 90 this year, Lehmann has expanded the multibillion-euro business on many key fronts, while continually embedding an ethos of happiness and care in the brand’s core.

Under her guidance, Lancôme has built blockbuster franchises and launched new ones. Among the launches for skin care were the Absolue Longevity Cream, which taps into the focus on longevity today that’s about health span rather than age span. 

Lancôme’s blockbuster scent franchise La Vie Est Belle has continued to top the charts, with its life-is-beautiful ethos that reverberates universally, as well as line extensions and refreshed advertising. Lancôme introduced Idôle, a fragrance targeting Millennials that was first fronted by Zendaya, in 2019. 

The brand also partnered with fashion labels on makeup — with the likes of Proenza Schouler and Sonia Rykiel — while growing its color cosmetics product portfolio.

Three years ago, Lancôme inaugurated its rose domain in Grasse, in the South of France, which is farmed with ecological horticultural methods. The 9.8-acre site, called the Domaine de la Rose, was purchased in 2020 under Lehmann’s leadership. The estate with a pink building, cultivates other aromatic plants in organically farmed fields and includes ancient terraces as well.

Lehmann has a keen eye for talent, having most recently — in November 2024 — signed on singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo as a Lancôme global brand ambassador. And in September, Lehmann added British actress Nico Parker to Lancôme’s talent roster, as the brand’s youngest global brand ambassador.

Lancôme and the Louvre in September 2023 celebrated a tie-in with attendee brand talents including Isabella Rossellini, Penélope Cruz, Aya Nakamura and Emma Chamberlain among guests. The brand and museum had teamed for a limited-edition makeup collection, dubbed Lancôme x Louvre.

Lehmann led Lancôme’s first sustainability program, introduced in 2021 and called “Caring Together for a Happier Tomorrow.” It was built on protecting biodiversity, helping people to consume sustainably and empowering women.

May 2020 marked the launch of the Lancôme Cares initiative, which donated hundreds of thousands of care packs to health care workers in more than 30 countries.

Prior to her tenure at Lancôme, Lehmann served as general manager of Kérastase International, where she was credited with modernizing its image, accelerating product innovation and strengthening to the level of a luxury brand the quality of service and customer advice at points of sale.

Lehmann spent her entire career at L’Oréal, beginning in 1988. Prior to joining Kérastase in 2010, she was international director of hair color for L’Oréal Paris. Lehmann also held numerous positions at Gemey, including head of marketing in France from 2000 to 2003. She is a graduate of HEC business school.

Lacascade, Lancôme’s incoming leader, has since January 2023 been in the chief innovation officer role at L’Oréal, where she spearheads the group’s global innovation strategy and works closely with its four divisions.

Prior to that, she served as global brand president of Vichy from November 2019 to December 2022. Lacascade led the brand’s transformation by redefining its medical positioning and instigating a new business model, which resulted in double-digit sales growth in less than two years, according to her LinkedIn profile.

From December 2017 to November 2019, Lacascade was at Lancôme, as senior vice president of skin care global marketing and sat on the brand’s board of directors.

Her other former positions at L’Oréal, where she began to work in 2012, include deputy general manager of The Body Shop International, marketing director at the international hub in China and international global marketing director at Garnier.

Lacascade began her career at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2002, as international product manager at Givenchy and then international group manager at Givenchy.

The executive received an MBA at Essec business school and a doctorate in pharmacy at Université de Rennes I.