FORA.tv Speaker - Jean-Paul Agon

Jean-Paul Agon is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L'Oreal, the world's leading beauty company. Mr. Agon joined L'Oreal in 1978 in the company's Consumer Products Division in France, before being appointed General Manager of L'Oreal Greece. In 1985, Mr. Agon returned to France as General Manager of L'Oreal Paris and was named International Managing Director of Biotherm four years later. In 1994, he became Managing Director of L'Oreal Germany. Following that position, L'Oreal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lindsay Owen-Jones entrusted Mr. Agon with the task of setting up and heading the L'Oreal Asia Zone, lending fresh impetus to these still-emerging markets. In 2001, Mr. Agon was named President of L'Oreal USA, leading a drive to win market share across every product category in a highly competitive environment. He was named Chief Executive Officer of L'Oreal in 2006 and in February of 2011 also became its Chairman. A man of action, Mr. Agon instills in L'Oreal the energy, rigor, and vision needed to successfully tackle the challenges of the third millennium. A man of conviction, he channels that same passion into promoting L'Oreal's ethical values, making the company a model of corporate citizenship. In 2009, Mr. Agon received the Ethical Resource Center's Pace Leadership in Ethics Award for L'Oreal's achievements in the areas of business ethics, diversity, financial transparency, and sustainable development. Mr. Agon also serves on the board of directors of Air Liquide, a world leader in gases for industry, health, and the environment.