Sephora North America is succession planning.

Artemis Patrick has been named president of the retailer, effective Oct. 2, taking up the title from Jean-André Rougeot, the present president and chief executive officer, who has revealed he’ll retire next April.

At the moment, Patrick, who’s currently Sephora’s global chief merchandising officer, will succeed him as CEO of Sephora North America. She shall be the primary woman to guide the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned retailer, which is the biggest prestige beauty player within the U.S. In her recent role, Patrick will report back to Guillaume Motte, president and CEO of Sephora’s global business.

Priya Venkatesh, currently senior vp of world merchandising, will step into the worldwide chief merchant role on Oct. 2, joining Sephora’s global leadership team and likewise reporting to Motte.

Moreover, Alexis Rollier, currently global chief operations officer, will oversee the Latin America region along with his current duties, effective Jan. 1.

Patrick has been with Sephora since 2006, when she joined as director of e-commerce merchandising. Known in the sweetness industry because the consummate brand whisperer, she has been a key architect of Sephora’s rise within the U.S., and the region has develop into Sephora’s largest worldwide.

In line with industry sources, globally Sephora sped past the 12 billion euro sales mark in 2022, and is on pace to realize its goal of 20 billion euros over the approaching years. Sources estimate that Sephora North America has the potential to drive $10 billion in sales.

“Since she joined Sephora, each in North America and global roles, Artemis has helped shape a few of our most breakthrough category and product leadership initiatives thus far,” said Motte, in an internal statement obtained by WWD. Amongst those, he cited inclusive foundation assortments, the expansion of the textured hair category, clean beauty and indie fragrances.

Patrick is extremely lauded by beauty insiders for her deep reference to brand founders and her innate understanding of consumer desires, which has enabled her to not only capitalize on current trends, but create them.

“Artemis is a one that could be very curious — about people, products, brands,” Laura Slatkin, the founder and chairman of Next, told Beauty Inc last 12 months when Patrick was honored by the Fragrance Foundation. “She listens, she is interested and she or he is fearless. She doesn’t hesitate to act on an idea. She knows the right way to dive into an idea and she or he believes in what she’s doing.”

Beauty insiders applauded the announcement while sending kudos to Rougeot. “Jean-André did an incredible job,” said Carol Hamilton, group president of acquisitions and West Coast Headquarters at L’Oréal USA. “Your complete industry should have fun Artemis’s promotion. Artemis is so smart and so deserving. She has an incredible leadership style that brings out the very best in everyone.”

“This appointment is a tribute to her vision, to the proven fact that she is a real connoisseur of beauty,” said Vasiliki Petrou, group CEO of Unilever Prestige. “Artemis could be very human, very personable. She all the time smiles and she or he is kind. It is a tribute to the actual fact that you may be kind and successful. It’s a recognition of top female qualities in business, too.”

“I’m genuinely excited for Artemis to step into this role,” said Colin Walsh, CEO of P&G Specialty Beauty, Ouai and Tula. “She’s been an excellent partner through the years: all the time near our brands and business, and wonderfully keen about beauty. In anything she’s done, Artemis clearly knows what success looks like for the industry, for the brands, and for Sephora’s shoppers.”

Under Rougeot, who took the reins in 2019 after 12 years as CEO of Profit Cosmetics, Sephora has deftly navigated the landscape. During his tenure Sephora has solidified its position because the leading e-commerce player in beauty, shifted to a multichannel mindset that allows seamless transactions between online and off, exponentially grown its Beauty Insider loyalty program and introduced a comprehensive plan around inclusivity that’s committed to achieving equity across all elements of the business. Sephora exited its relationship with JCPenney and rolled out a partnership with Kohl’s, with 200 locations opening the primary 12 months and one other 400 slated to open this 12 months. It’ll also debut on Zappos.com, which is owned by Amazon, within the fourth quarter of this 12 months.

“The time has not yet come to say goodbye to Jean-André as he stays the business leader and continues to drive the North American business to even greater heights until he retires,” said Motte. “Due to his inspirational, passionate leadership, beauty and retail expertise, and purpose-driven vision, the region is now stronger than ever, delivering all-time record sales, and gaining market share.”

Patrick will take the reins at a time of buoyancy for the prestige beauty industry within the U.S., with Circana reporting first-half sales increased 15 percent year-over-year. However the competition within the specialty channel is equally as fierce, with Ulta Beauty and Sephora vying for relevance with the hotly contested Gen Z consumer, amidst an uncertain and volatile economic backdrop.

Hamilton said that Patrick’s longevity at the corporate should serve Sephora well, particularly at a time when the markets are in flux. “All of us have to capitalize on our experience to bring beauty to the following level. We’d like the neatest people at the highest of their games running these corporations,” said Hamilton.

“We’re at an inflection point at once,” she continued. “The indie world, which has been such a specialty of Sephora’s, goes to undergo some major changes given the shifts within the financial markets. It’s going to be much harder for founder-led brands to get investment now, so the choice of those brands that drive a lot consumer interest into Sephora goes to develop into more complicated, and goes to require some studying and recent thought.”

Along with her understanding of the brand landscape, specializing in the evolving retail landscape can also be going to be key. “Consistency of education, service and experience could be very high in importance,” said Petrou. “Ultimately, luxury needs to face strong as luxury and stores need to offer personalized experience and education, flawless execution and content — otherwise why do you call them luxury? We’d like to maintain reinventing Sephora to remain two steps ahead.”