Markus Strobel, the longtime head of Procter & Gamble’s skin and personal care businesses, will retire, effective Aug. 1.
His announcement has set off a senior management shuffle at P&G Beauty, with Freddy Bharucha, currently the president of North American personal care and beauty operations, being named global president of personal care, and Sue Kyung Lee, currently chief executive officer of SK-II, becoming global president of P&G Skin Care.
Bharucha’s portfolio will include Old Spice and Secret, while Lee will oversee Olay and SK-II.
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Both will report to Alex Keith, CEO of P&G Beauty, and assume their new positions on July 1.
Strobel started his career at P&G in 1991 in the Home Care division prior to joining Beauty & Grooming. During his tenure, he has worked across all categories, and is best known for his turnaround of SK-II, which went from a multiyear sales decline to Asia’s number-one skin care brand during his tenure.
“Markus has been a powerfully effective leader of our skin and personal care businesses over the last six years, in addition to his previous contributions on brands like SK-II, Braun and Pantene,” Keith said. “His impact on our global skin and personal care businesses is unique, resulting in consistent, strong growth across Olay, Old Spice, Secret and more.”
Beauty has been a bright spot at P&G, with organic sales increasing 5 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Skin and personal care organic sales grew in the low-single digits, while hair care organic sales increased in the high-single digits.
For the calendar year 2023, beauty sales reached $15 billion at the CPG giant, despite macroeconomic pressures in key markets like China.