L’Oréal heiress, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, steps down from board seat after 28 years

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, 71, has stepped down from her position on L’Oréal’s board of directors, transferring her seat to Téthys, the family’s holding company, during the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday. Bettencourt Meyers, honored during the meeting, also passed her vice-chair role to one of her sons.

Bettencourt Meyers, the heiress to the L’Oréal fortune and among the world’s richest women, has long played a central role in the company’s governance.

Téthys’ appointment to the board received strong support and was approved with 95.59% of shareholder votes. Bettencourt Meyers had served as a board member for 28 years and remains the chair of Téthys.

“I am not leaving L’Oréal, but I am stepping down from its board of directors, where I served for 28 years,” she told AFP on Monday.

“It is a joy for my husband and me to see the bond between our family and L’Oréal continue. We look forward to nurturing it alongside our sons, Jean-Victor and Nicolas,” she added.

Jean-Victor, who turned 39 on Tuesday, was unanimously approved by the board to succeed his mother as vice-chair. He joined L’Oréal’s board in 2012, taking over the seat previously held by his grandmother, Liliane Bettencourt.

His brother, Victor, 36, has been a board member for five years.

“Today marks a major milestone in L’Oréal’s history,” said Chairman Jean-Paul Agon during the tribute to Bettencourt Meyers.

He emphasized the enduring relationship between the Bettencourt Meyers family and the founding family of L’Oréal. Bettencourt Meyers is the granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller and the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt.

“You have always resisted the temptation of short-term measures that would have sacrificed investment for immediate results,” Agon told Bettencourt Meyers, seated in the front row with her husband, Jean-Pierre Meyers, and their sons.

“You have always fought to protect the integrity of the group — sometimes, I can attest, at the expense of your own peace of mind and that of your beloved family,” he added.

“Discretion is a silent virtue,” Agon concluded. “And you embody it.”

Bettencourt Meyers accepted a bouquet of flowers and greeted the audience, receiving warm applause from the nearly 1,000 shareholders in attendance.

As of March 24, 2025, the Bettencourt Meyers family held a 34.76% stake in L’Oréal. In 2024, the company reported a 3.6% increase in net profit to €6.4 billion and a 5.6% rise in revenue to €43.48 billion.

Paris, April 29, 2025 (AFP)