Coty, L.L. Bean, Kendra Scott Design Hire Top Leaders
Three consumer goods manufacturers have named new chief executive officers.
At Coty, Markus Strobel took on the interim role, effective Jan. 1. Chris Blakeslee becomes CEO of jewelry brand Kendra Scott Designs effective Jan. 12, and Greg Elder will be promoted to president and CEO of L.L. Bean in February following the planned departure of Stephen Smith.
Coty
As interim CEO, Strobel will help lead the ongoing strategic review of Coty's consumer beauty business. He takes over for Sue Nabi, who will step down as CEO following a five-year tenure.
Strobel joins Coty from Procter & Gamble, where he spent 33 years, most recently serving as president of the global skin and personal care business.
He was hired for his experience in driving category and organizational transformation across P&G Beauty and modernizing innovation, product supply, marketing and go-to-market strategies on a global scale. He also spent time in several senior roles across the hair care and fragrance categories, leading prestige brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Hugo Boss.
Kendra Scott Designs
Kendra Scott Designs has hired Blakeslee as part of an initiative to expand the contemporary, multi-generational lifestyle brand. He takes over for founder Kendra Scott, who will continue on as chief visionary officer.
Blakeslee has extensive consumer goods experience, having led Gap-owned Athleta as CEO and Alo Yoga and Bella and Canvas as president. At Alo Yoga, he helped scale the brand from under $50 million to a $1 billion-plus direct-to-consumer business in less than five years.
L.L. Bean
Elder has worked at L.L.Bean for nearly two decades, most recently as its chief retail officer, a role in which he oversaw stores, wholesale, international and direct to business. In his new top role, he will be tasked with evolving the company's omnichannel strategy, expanding its retail presence and elevating product assortment.
Smith will remain in an advisory capacity through March.
Smith announced in July 2025 that he would be stepping down after 10 years of leading the company.
