What does it take to lead a PE-backed company? 3 questions to Sabrina Herlory Rouget, CEO of Aroma-Zone

Sabrina Herlory Rouget has been the CEO of Aroma-Zone since 2021, a company founded by the Vausselin family, a leader in online aromatherapy and cosmetics and backed by Eurazeo. She previously ran MAC Cosmetics in France after managing “L’Occitane” in Europe. She graduated from HEC Paris, in 2003.

A committed citizen, she is also the spokesperson for the ‘Fondation des femmes‘, Sponsor of the ” Maison des femmes de St Denis “, and Administrator of ‘Toutes À l’Ecole‘.

You are currently CEO of a Private Equity owned company. You have had leadership positions in large international companies and in family-owned businesses, how is it different? How do you strike a balance between a CEO and active financial investor?

PE firms allow for a high level of autonomy. They are also nimble, and their decision process is streamlined. This speed of execution allows me as a CEO to be more creative. Today, creativity and reactivity are critical as we live in an environment that requires constant change and adjustment. It is more difficult within large corporations to react quickly and to anticipate change.

Regular monthly exchanges with our shareholders force our teams to efficiently and effectively focus on the right topics and be well prepared. It is a team exercise as I believe in the diversity of talents and expertise, and not in an omnipotent CEO presence.

The Eurazeo team brings a granularity of analysis and acts as sparring partners—a helpful tool with which to reinvent, transform and scale the Company.

At the time of the acquisition, I did meet several Private Equity Funds. I spent a lot of time with the Eurazeo’s team, and I purposefully choose to work with them and with Amandine Ayrem in particular.

Amandine and I had a meeting of minds and values. She not only understood the business and its financial drivers, but also what Aroma-Zone stood for in terms of values. We were completely aligned with the vision for the Business and on its impact on society at large. Both criteria are equally important for me and drove my choice.

Effecting such a transformation is easier to achieve under private ownership at this stage versus public markets, which may be more short term focused.

The DNA of Aroma-Zone is to make 100% natural products available for the wider public, how do you factor in ESG constraints and the respect for the environment in your running if the Company?

Aroma-Zone is an ESG native company. ESG is the core of our DNA. We are proud to be leaders in this field, but we remain humble as the road ahead is complex and unpaved.

Our primary focus has always been to reduce waste and avoid excessive packaging. The cosmetic industry traditionally tends to over pack products, which results in a lot of waste. We are trying to change usage and use only bottles alone for our products.

We are also leading the way for the eco-refilling of products and bulk selling in physical stores. It is a long process. However, we have achieved a record of 1.9 million eco refills sold for our serums in 2023.

Decarbonation is a massive challenge and in parallel we are working closely with the agricultural industry to invest in and develop regenerative farming.

We also believe we need to educate our customers to adapt their behaviors and expectations for a more eco conscious lifestyle. We have 2 million active customers in France and, therefore, we are an essential agent of change.

Our size allows us to be nimble and explore new ways of producing and selling versus traditional business models, which often struggle to sustain ESG constraints and transform themselves.

Lastly, accelerating our efforts towards an ever more sustainable business relies on our financial performance and our ability to self-fund this transformation.

You are a woman in a leadership position in the Private Equity industry, which is male dominated, how do you assess the situation? How do change this situation?

My approach is not to see myself as an outsider. Never.  I work with smart counterparts who want to create value and be good and responsible citizens. The focus is performance, excellence, and value creation.

It is not easy, but it is motivating and highly enriching. I hope that I can be an example and a role model for some. The more women there are in the industry, the more women it will attract. It is a virtuous circle.

I encourage women not to be afraid of crafting their own story.