Revlon announced today (May 1) that it will emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in “the coming days” with a new board of directors populated by former executives from Sephora, Walgreens and Starbucks.
The stake of billionaire Ronald Perelman, Revlon’s former owner who first acquired the beauty company in the 1980s, was wiped out after Revlon filed for bankruptcy in June 2022 with a debt of $3.7 billion. Perelman’s daughter Debra, who has led the company since 2018, will remain as CEO and a member of the board.
“Bringing together this accomplished group of individuals for the benefit of all our stakeholders is a testament to the strength of our brands and future growth potentials of the Company,” she said in a statement.
Who’s who on the new Revlon board
The company’s reorganized board will be led by executive chair Elizabeth Smith, former CEO and executive chair at Bloomin’ Brands, the restaurant holding company that owns Outback Steakhouse.
Smith was also previously the chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and president of Avon Products, where she re-engineered the company’s cost structure and infrastructure after working at Kraft Foods for 14 years.
“Working alongside such esteemed director colleagues, as well as Revlon’s talented team, I am confident that we can achieve something great by executing the company’s market-driven strategy and promoting a culture of innovation and excellence,” said Smith in a statement.
Other board appointees include Martin Brok, the former global president and CEO of Sephora who previously held executive roles at Nike, and Timothy McLevish, a former chief financial officer at companies like Walgreens, Kraft Foods and Ingersoll-Rand.
Hans Melotte, a previous president at Starbucks’ global channel development and chief procurement officer at Johnson & Johnson, will also be joining the board, as will Paul Pressler, the current chairman of eBay’s board of directors who formerly held positions as the CEO of Gap and chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
The coming change is already having an impact
After the board changes were announced, Revlon’s stock rose by around 11 percent, according to Yahoo Finance.
With an estimated value expected between $2.7 billion and $3.2 billion, Revlon, which owns brands such as Elizabeth Arden, will emerge from bankruptcy with a lessened debt of around $1.4 billion.
Revlon’s lenders, which include Glendon Capital Management, King Street Capital Management and Angelo Gordon & Co, will collectively own more than 80 percent of the company’s equity.
“Upon emergence, we will have the capital structure and financial resources necessary to invest for the future, serve our loyal customers with high-quality beauty products they know and love,” continued Debra Perelman in the statement, “and introduce our beloved brands to the next generation of Revlon consumers around the world.”
