NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°36 - Octobre 2023 - 24

PROFILS - ENTRETIEN -
Beatrice Lafon (CESEM 82)
FORTUNE FAVOURS
THE BOLD
AS AN A HIGH-PROFILE " FIXER " ABLE TO TURN AROUND ANY AILING BUSINESS, BEATRICE
LAFON DOES NOT KNOW THE WORD " IMPOSSIBLE " . THE TRACK RECORD OF HER 40-YEAR
CAREER IN INTERNATIONAL RETAIL SPEAKS VOLUMES: SHE LED THE SALES OF TJ HUGHES
IN THE UK, RESTORED CLAIRE'S PROFITS IN THE US AND EUROPE, CONTRIBUTED TO THE
RECOVERY OF PIMKIE IN FRANCE... AND SO MUCH MORE.
You started out at Marks & Spencer in the 80's,
joined Kingfisher during the 90's, then had a
string of interim senior executive positions
before taking the helm of Claire's... Now you
focus on a portfolio of non-executives' roles.
What was the guiding thread of your career?
Looking back, I have always been attracted to
companies that gave me the opportunity to have
an impact and add value. That was the permanent
feature of my career. All these enterprises also had
huge teams at their core: harnessing that power
was key and motivated me hugely. I blossom in
environments where results matter. This explains
why I have been working with Private Equity for
over 25 years: they need executives able to act
and deliver swiftly, combined with a creative, and
human touch, it ensures results are lasting. The
corporate world can be dull if you are not fully in
charge. In the 90's, between two great UK companies,
Marks & Spencer and Kingfisher (Woolworths),
I joined a family-owned group. The
experience was short-lived: I left within six months.
The family decided everything, used people - I did
not fit into the culture. My first experience of Private
Equity was in 2000, when I was e-commerce
director at Homebase, a British home improvement
retailer, I was recruited to launch the first
transactional do-it-yourself website in the world,
ahead of the Sale of the company. Then I got a
managing director role with Eyestorm, an international
contemporary art agency: the venture capitalists'
owners mandated me to develop the
business before selling it. Since then, I mostly
worked with Private Equity: TJ Hughes, Claire's,
Kondor... One exception was in 2018 when I
accepted to step in as interim CEO of Pimkie,
which belonged to the Mulliez family, whilst the
permanent CEO was recruited.
Why did you decide to turn to non-executive
roles?
For years, I operated all around the globe as a top
executive, with a special expertise in rapidly turn-
24 - NEOMA ALUMNI mag OCTOBRE 2023
ing around ailing businesses. In 2011, I joined
Claire's, the accessories and jewellery retailer: I
became the company president in Europe, with
the mission to accelerate growth and profits.
Within two years, the European ebidta increased
significantly, reaching the objective of $100 millions.
I was then appointed CEO of the whole group
to recover its global performance. I moved to Chicago
with my 7-year-old son, whom I was bringing
up alone. From 2014 to 2016, I cut costs, created a
global team, reached profitability for our online
businesses, and repositioned the brands, halting
years of declining sales. At that time, I was juggling
with two nannies to cover my schedule and my
constant business trips. My son needed more of
his mummy, and I also wanted more time with him,
at home. On top of that, in April 2016, my parents,
who lived in France, had serious health issues, and
were hospitalized. I was doing Paris-Chicago
round-trip every weekend: that could not last. I
decided to come back to Europe and progressively
switch to non-executive roles. I began my first
non-executive experience, with SuperDry, an international
fashion brand based in London. I also had
a personal reason: I was emotionally and physically
exhausted by years of globe-trotting. I was not
that far from burn-out - but I did not realize it,
even though people told me I was working too
much. I did my job early in the morning and late at
night to be 100% available for my employees during
regular office hours. My nickname was the
" twelve hours brigade " . (laughs)
One of your other nicknames is " Mrs Fix-it " ...
Being able to understand and troubleshoot problems
quickly has been my trademark since my first
job at Marks & Spencer in 1982, in the UK. As a
merchandiser, I restructured the men's knitwear
category: this was my first small turnaround. Then
in 18 months I transformed the loss-making babywear
department into the most profitable clothing
department of the company. They get used to
send me in the areas where problem had to be
https://www.linkedin.com/in/doctorbeatricelafon/
NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°36 - Octobre 2023

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