Longtime Sephora executive Artemis Patrick has made company history: she has been named President of Sephora North America, effective October 2, the first woman to hold this position. Patrick will report to Jean-André Rougeot, President and CEO Sephora North America, and will take on the CEO role when he retires in April 2024, according to a company statement.

Patrick will shadow Rougeot throughout the fourth quarter and will be fully involved in the development of Sephora’s 2024 North America Budget plans. From January 2024, Patrick will oversee the retailer’s various departments including stores, ecommerce, marketing, tech and supply chain, and will lead the development of the new North America 2025-2027 Strategic Plan. In April 2024, Patrick will report to Guillaume Motte, Sephora’s President & CEO.

Patrick has been with Sephora for 17 years, most notably shaping the retailer’s inclusive foundation assortments, textured hair distortion, clean beauty, and indie fragrances. She also initiated Sephora as the first retailer to sign the 15 Percent Pledge. Patrick was instrumental in facilitating the launch of Sephora at Kohl’s, building on her experience as SVP of Sephora inside JCPenney where she led the business during its most profitable years, and built a successful retail network of 500+ stores including online.

Prior to that, Patrick served as the VP of eCommerce Merchandising for Sephora.com.

Following this move, Priya Venkatesh, currently SVP, Global Merchandising, has been promoted to Global Chief Merchandising Officer, effective October 2, 2023. Venkatesh will report to Motte and will become a member of the Global Senior Leadership Team.

Since joining Sephora in 2005, Venkatesh has had a significant impact on Sephora’s North America business. These include, but are not limited to, launching an outstanding Indie skin care portfolio of brands, building Clean Beauty, and exploding the hair category into a successful multi-million-dollar business, including introducing many salon-only hair brands into Sephora.

Furthermore, the Latin America region, including Brazil and Mexico, which reports to Rougeot, will report to Alexis Rollier starting January 1, 2024.

“The time has not come yet to say goodbye to Jean-André and we will make sure to celebrate him properly before he leaves us. However, I take this opportunity to thank him for his tremendous impact on our Americas business over the last five years. Thanks 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 shares,” Motte said in a statement.