After less than two months in the chief operating officer position at Revlon, Chris Peterson has been named the company’s chief financial officer, succeeding Juan Figuereo, who is retiring from the company. As COO, Peterson was already overseeing Revlon’s finance function (in addition to the supply chain and information technology functions), but Tuesday’s announcement means Peterson “will assume direct responsibility for the CFO role,” according to a statement from Revlon.
Prior to joining Revlon, Peterson served in a number of senior executive positions at Ralph Lauren, including most recently as president of global brands. As CFO of Ralph Lauren from 2012 to 2015, Peterson oversaw investor relations, IT, and real estate.
Retiring CFO Figuereo joined Revlon in April 2016 and played a key role in the $870 million acquisition of Elizabeth Arden last year, according to Revlon.
“I’d like to thank Juan for his contributions and leadership throughout the successful acquisition of Elizabeth Arden and the early stages of its integration,” said Revlon CEO Fabian Garcia. “Our integration is on track and, as we have reported, exceeding our initial synergy expectations. We are excited to have Chris take on the CFO role in order to continue this momentum as we execute on our strategy to drive long-term growth.”
Figuereo previously served as CFO of NII Holdings (formerly Nextel International) and Newell Rubbermaid, and was vice president of mergers and acquisitions for Wal-Mart International from 2003 to 2007.
Revlon recorded a 71-cents-per-share loss for its first quarter. Revenue rose 34% to $595 million, helped by the acquisition of Elizabeth Arden. On a pro-forma basis, however, sales dropped 5.8%.
The company attributed the revenue decline to softening consumption in beauty categories across both mass retail and prestige channels, and fewer replenishment orders in the professional channel. “During the quarter and as widely reported, most of our U.S. retail partners experienced lesser foot traffic, store closures, and shopper channel shifting to online and beauty specialty retailers,” CEO Garcia told analysts in early May.
Revlon ranks among the top 20 global beauty companies, with product offerings in color cosmetics, skincare, hair color and care, beauty tools, men’s grooming products, anti-perspirant deodorants, and other beauty care categories.