Coty announces appointment of new CEO at Kylie Cosmetics as strategic partnership kicks off

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 7, 2020

American beauty conglomerate Coty and media personality and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner announced on Monday that they have completed the transaction cementing their long-term strategic partnership and revealed the appointment of Christoph Honnefelder as CEO of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin.

 
Honnefelder comes to his new position from European beauty retailer Douglas, where he has served as EVP for assortment and purchasing since February 2016.
 
Prior to this, the executive worked at Tchibo, a German consumer goods and coffee retailer, where he held a range of senior management roles, including director of products and director of consumer goods sourcing, over a period of nine years.

Honnefelder, who completed a BA at the London School of Economics and an MBA at the University of Passau, as well as executive education at Harvard Business School, began his career as project leader at The Boston Consulting Group.
 
First announced in November of last year, the partnership between Coty and Kylie Cosmetics sees the New York-based conglomerate acquire 51% of the Jenner-Kardashian clan member’s beauty business as part of a plan to transform it into a “global powerhouse.”
 
Following the deal’s closure, Jenner and her team will continue to lead creative efforts at the Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin brands, both in terms of product and communications, while Coty will leverage its expertise and capabilities in R&D, manufacturing and distribution to drive the portfolio’s development.
 
“We are pleased to complete this transaction and partner with Kylie Jenner to build a high growth, digitally native beauty brand,” said Coty CEO Pierre Loubies in a release.
 
Coty stated that Honnefelder will step into his new role “in the near future,” but has not provided any further information about specific dates as of yet.