Ilaria Resta, Global Perfumery President of Firmenich, was chosen by the professional organization Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) USA to receive an Achiever Award in recognition of her professional achievements. The CEW, which has 10,500 members from 3,500 beauty companies around the world, awards this award each year to celebrate the industry’s most notable achievements.
Ilaria Resta, who was appointed in March 2020, is the first and only woman to hold the position of World President among the major perfume houses. An active member of the Firmenich Management Committee, she led a major transformation program in the perfumery sector. Its new vision, “Positive Perfumery”, consists of making perfumes an asset for the well-being of consumers and the planet. She has made diversity and women’s leadership one of her top priorities.
Firmenich is the seventh company in the world, and the first in the fragrance industry, to be globally certified as a gender-responsive employer by EDGE, the world’s leading standard for gender-responsive business certification.
Ms. Resta has put in place several strategies for women to access leadership roles:
It has recently recruited several talented new women to its leadership team, including Robin Mason, Vice President of Fine Fragrance North America; Patricia Nogueira, Vice President of Fine Fragrances in Latin America; Levenza Toh, Vice President of Perfumery, Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea.
She has created an official mentoring program where she personally supports the young talents of the group.
She sponsored an employee wellness program and personally shared her experiences managing mental wellness.
Prior to joining Firmenich, Ilaria Resta had over 22 years of experience at Procter & Gamble. She has created iconic brands such as Tide, Ariel, Fairy, Swiffer, Duracell, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences and Aussie, in global roles and leading regional businesses in Europe and North America. She helped companies turn crises into successes, renewing P&G’s European haircare business and, before that, restructuring Duracell’s business prior to a successful divestiture. As Senior Vice President, Hair Care, North America, at P&G, Ilaria achieved exceptional business results, increasing market share and profitability.
The award will be presented at the 2022 Live Women’s Leadership Awards Luncheon, a ceremony hosted by CEW in New York City on June 2, 2022.
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