Hae-Su Kwon’s is a career that has played out at leading edge of cosmetics and skincare; one that began with her cutting her teeth as a junior brand manager with beauty behemoth, L’Oréal, and that today sees her at the helm of one of the company’s business divisions in DACH. As Managing Director of L’Oréal Luxe, Kwon holds the reins across 20 iconic brands, that include Prada, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Lancôme. It is a new role as of 2024, and an opportunity to learn, to grow and to pursue greater heights of excellence in beauty.
“I started with L’Oréal fresh out of CEMS because this was a company that truly resonated with me and with my love for the products themselves. There was also the appeal of a culture that is uncompromising in its dedication to excellence. L’Oréal wants to be the very best in everything it does: from hair care to dermatology to consumer products to luxury. And that spoke to me at a time when I was just starting out—putting into place the building blocks of my career.”
The beauty veteran hasn’t always worked for L’Oréal however. A few years into her career, she accepted an offer to work for Johnson & Johnson; the lure of travel and immersing herself in a new language and culture too strong to resist, she says.
“I have a great love of travelling and London is such a metropolis of culture. I knew Paris very well at the time, thanks to L’Oréal, but this was a chance to be somewhere different and to develop my fluency in English (she speaks five languages). I spent almost two decades at J&J. In time, though, my love for beauty brought me back to L’Oréal.”
Being the best in beauty
L’Oréal is a beauty “purist,” Kwon says, with a culture that is uncompromising about the quality of its brands and products—a unique passion that she shares to her core, she says. As such, the organisation is constantly pushing frontiers in the science of cosmetics and skincare, leveraging AI and beauty tech among others, to break the mould and drive innovation. It is also an organisation that recognises and rewards the talent of its people—individuals who, like Kwon, are ardent about learning, about the business and about “making the biggest bets” in their own pursuit excellence. Since her return to the company in 2021, she has enjoyed two leadership positions—prior to her current role, she was Managing Director of then L’Oréal Active Cosmetics Division. Here she not only managed the rebranding of the division itself which is today known as ‘L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty’, but also achieved outstanding growth for the Group. For her, now making the transition to luxury speaks to the commitment that the company has to its talented leaders; to ensuring that the right opportunities fan out in front of promising and ambitious professionals.
“There is a culture here of recognising people who have ideas, who can think big and be bold. And that’s not always a given. Here, there really is a sense that you can push boundaries and go bigger and it’s tied to the organisational culture as a pioneer in this space—this passion for being the first to do things. It’s one of the reasons I feel such passion for L’Oréal and for its products.”
Kwon is also passionate about leadership. As a seasoned GM, she has poured her energy and commitment into creating cultures where people love coming into work; where they feel proud of what they do, and at ease within a team spirit. This is the core of effective leadership, she believes: having a direct influence over the kind of culture and environment you want to see and leading what she calls a “virtual spiral” where success today fuels success tomorrow.
“At L’Oréal, leadership really is understood as empowering people to be creative, to contribute and to achieve as much as possible for themselves. We don’t hire great people in order to tell them what to do. We want them to feel autonomy and ownership because that’s what undergirds the success of this company. As leaders, we set objectives and direction, but then we encourage our people to find their own way,” says Kwon. “If your people feel like they’re a big bird in a small cage, they will never fly,” she laughs.
A learning culture
If L’Oréal is about empowerment, it is also about aspiration and learning. The company is a world-class “school,” says Kwon, offering young professionals the flexibility, exposure and rotation to immerse themselves in every business function; from marketing and sales through to manufacturing, finance and logistics and beyond. It’s also an organisation that should appeal to all genders, she believes.
“We would really love more male students to consider working for L’Oréal and to challenge the notion that we’re just about selling lipsticks – we are so much more! When you look at our portfolio, it’s immensely diverse with multiple points of focus. We have great male brands and products, but we are also a very agile beauty tech company and work right at the cutting edge in Skin Technology which is relevant to the entire population.”
The company is present and active in countries worldwide, offering opportunities for young professionals to move between geographies, as well as its different divisions and functions. Leadership is proactive about developing new capabilities and skills, she says.
“We encourage our people to be open to change and to move fast. So it’s very common to promote someone from Germany, say, to a role in the Netherlands; or to challenge a marketer to take on a new role in e-commerce. We want to see our people succeed in everything they do, whatever or wherever that is so we are committed to creating diverse and international opportunities for growth and learning.”
In this sense, the company very much mirrors the critical underpinnings of Kwon’s CEMS experience, she says; an experience that challenged her to become wholly international in outlook, agile in skills development and committed to the habit of learning—a lifelong habit that she has nurtured and developed.
“At CEMS I learned that learning doesn’t stop after university and it’s a lesson that has stood the test of time – especially now as I prepare to transition again and take on a new opportunity in luxury. What you learn at CEMS—the dexterity and the nimbleness that come with international rotation, with internships and with exposure—these things stand you in very good stead indeed if you aspire to become a leader. Being a GM, managing a business, you need to be open to lifelong learning as you develop and hone your craft.”
Kwon has considered and clear advice for young people on the brink of their professional journey today. A commitment to learning is key to long-term success, she says. So too is a high degree of self-knowledge.
Listening to “your heart” helps determine where real passion lies and is a critical engine for professional and personal growth.
“When I started out, I really went with my heart. I’m essentially a creative person; I love art, music and painting. So, I figured out that I wanted to be creative in my business life—I wanted to work on campaigns and find new and resourceful ways to build insights. I believe that if you pinpoint your true interests and fuel them, that you will be successful in what you do.”
Being open to new challenges, new experiences and perspectives are also fundamental, she says.
“When you are young you have fewer restrictions. Now is the time to keep your eyes open, to listen and apply what you hear, to learn and rectify and to be unafraid of making mistakes. And remember: increasingly your customers are going to be all over the world in whatever industry or organisation you choose. So I’d say this: be boundaryless. Be open to embracing new cultures, to travelling and to living somewhere new. I believe that if you are, you will be building your career the right way.”