LVMH names former Starbucks exec Martin Brok as new president, CEO of Sephora

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Sep 9, 2020

Luxury powerhouse LVMH has named Martin Brok as the new president and chief executive officer of Sephora, succeeding Chris de Lapuente.

Brok, who recently served as the president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Starbucks, will begin his new role with Sephora on September 14 and will report to de Lapuente. 

In a press release, LVMH said that de Lapuente will remain as a member of the LVMH Comex and will take on additional responsibilities within the group that will be announced at a later date. 

Prior to the beginning of his time with Starbucks in 2016, Brok has served as an account executive at The Coca-Cola Company, has held a number of leadership positions at Burger King Corporation over the course of a 7-year stint, and has served in a number of management roles with Nike, including global COO of direct to consumer and vice president of global product and merchandise operations and analytics. 

In a statement, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, said that Brok will be responsible for "creating the next breakthrough chapter at Sephora." 

"Martin brings extensive international leadership experience in multiple fast-paced and client-oriented businesses at a crucial moment of change for global retailing.

“I want to thank Chris for transforming Sephora over the last decade to be one of the world’s most successful retail brands with a unique culture and a formidably strong organization,” Arnault continued. 

"Under Chris’ leadership Sephora has tripled sales and profits, emerging as the only truly global beauty retailer and establishing itself as the industry’s foremost innovator. Sephora is now positioned as a global beauty powerhouse, with a superb omnichannel presence," he added.

In May, Sephora began the process of reopening its U.S. stores after a temporary shut-down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, at the same time as the beauty retailer expanded its reach with the launch of a new flagship e-store on China's Tmall.