In a New Era, Lancôme Welcomes a New Chief

PARIS — As Lancôme enters a new decade, it welcomes a new leader: Vania Lacascade.

She became global brand president in July, after having served as L’Oréal’s chief innovation officer at its research and innovation branch, where she spearheaded the group’s global innovation strategy.

Lacascade has been navigating the beauty landscape, spanning luxury, mass and dermocosmetics, for more than 20 years. Her experience is broad, reflecting the unusual path that brought her to the category in the first place.

“I hold both a doctorate in pharmacy, and also a degree from ESSEC Business School,” Lacascade said. “I’ve spent my career at the intersection of strategy, of creativity, of emotional intelligence as a marketer — but always with this intention to shape innovations that are grounded in science.

“For me, innovation is always intentional,” she continued. “It’s a blend of consumer insights, but also intuition, which helps you make bolder choices, bolder moves.”

Lacascade joined L’Oréal 15 years ago and has held key leadership roles at diverse brands on different continents, all of which have informed her vision for Lancôme.

“There are three main chapters that have been transformative in my journey and that will be fundamental in my new role,” Lacascade said. The first is when she moved to China for the mass division. That was in 2012, when China was evolving rapidly and Asian beauty brands were dynamic competitors. Simultaneously, digital and social platforms were rising. “It was the best experience I could have to deepen my cultural agility,” she said.

Lacascade’s second transformative chapter was her first tenure at Lancôme, beginning in 2017, when she oversaw skin care under Françoise Lehmann, whom she succeeded at the helm of the brand in July.

At Lancôme, there was the heady blend of the scientific — collaborating with advanced research — and creativity. “This is what I find the most compelling,” she said. “Lancôme embodies the bridge between science and emotion like no other brand.”

The third pivotal moment was her role as innovation officer in R&I. “Those three years really influenced my vision of the future of beauty,” she said. “I was working for consumers worldwide, so completely agnostic to brands. It provided me with this incredible holistic and inclusive understanding of consumer insights.”

Lacascade is especially proud of having worked on the new L’Oréal road map linking longevity and beauty, a major pillar for the group overall and Lancôme. “I will be able to transfer it and transform it into innovation for the consumer,” she said, “alongside new frontiers like beauty tech or inclusive innovation.”

Lacascade believes to remain a leader, Lancôme needs to constantly evolve. “This is what the brand has been doing for many years. My ambition will be to continue to amplify this quest for scientific progress, but also to amplify this cultural dimension,” she said. “It’s really this ability to bring the unexpected, create surprise, expectation.”

Lacascade intends to leverage further the alchemy Lancôme has, which she characterizes as combining serious science and feminine emotion, heritage and innovation, and French elegance and global inclusivity. “This brand has always been contemporary and relevant,” Lacascade said. “We need to continue to be relevant for today’s women, be relevant for women tomorrow.”

Her strategic focus is on maintaining Lancôme’s leadership, including strengthening innovation, which she believes should be guided by science and technology on the one hand and a deep understanding of consumers on the other.

Beauty tech and personalization are also in her sites. “Lancôme has been the pioneer of the group in terms of beauty tech, diagnosis and devices,” Lacascade said. “We will definitely continue, as the future of beauty will be linked to personalization that will be powered by tech. So we will continue to leverage emerging technologies.”

Lancôme has birthed, for instance, Cell BioPrint, the advanced biological skin diagnosis, and augmented beauty devices, such as Hapta. “AI-based data analysis will offer us a way to progressively solutions to consumers,” Lacascade said.

She also plans to keep Lancôme on its path of responsible luxury. “The opportunity of the next 10 years is to redefine luxury beauty for the next generation,” she said. “It’s not only through product performance, but it’s also through meaning and emotional resonance.”

The biggest opportunity, said the executive, is to lead the longevity revolution and make Lancôme the reference for longevity, when it comes to skin, at every stage of life.

“Lancôme has the power, as well, to set the standard in terms of inclusive innovation,” said Lacascade. “That’s something that we will continue to do, so that people feel represented within the brand, with the right products that are targeting their needs.

“Those are two meta opportunities that will be fundamentals for Lancôme,” she explained.