PARIS — “The partnership between L’Oréal and the America’s Cup was driven by many values that we have in common,” said Christophe Babule, chief financial officer of L’Oréal.
In the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, taking place through Oct. 27, the world’s largest beauty company is a cosponsor of France’s Orient Express Racing Team, which includes the Challenger crew for the America’s Cup, the French all-women’s crew for the Puig Women’s America’s Cup and the French under-25 crew for the Youth’s America’s Cup.
L’Oréal is also title partner to the French Women’s and Youth teams. But the group’s link to sailing harks back more than 100 years.
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“Its founder Eugène Schueller was a keen sailor,” said Babule, who also serves as patron of the Orient Express — L’Oréal Racing Women’s team. The executive explained Schueller would sail from Brittany to the Isle of Wight in the U.K.
“Apparently, the danger of sunburns also was something he detected very early when he was sailing,” said Babule. “And that probably pushed him to develop some formulas in sun cream.”
The America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in sports, dates back to 1851, when it held its first edition around the Isle of Wight, coincidentally.
L’Oréal has sponsored the America’s Cup in the past. “That was back in 1995, when the syndicate that was run by Bill Koch decided to create an all-women’s team,” said Babule. “That was the very first time, and it was the first time L’Oréal was sponsoring this event.”
It was for the America3 team, which performed well. But that team raced in the overall America’s Cup race. This year will be the first time there will be a specific race for women, the Puig Women’s America’s Cup.
“We are close to celebrating this 30-year anniversary after the first event supported by L’Oréal,” he said. “And we felt that since for the very first time in 173 years of this historical trophy, finally, women’s teams are accepted, it was quite natural for L’Oréal, that has always been behind the empowerment of women, to be beside this big event.
“That’s when the group decided to be an official sponsor of the Orient Express racing team,” continued Babule.
There are other factors that paved the way for L’Oréal’s sponsorship.
“L’Oréal is more and more committed also in investing in what we call ‘beauty tech,’” said Babule. “Tech is playing an important role in the long-term development of L’Oréal. [It] has by far been the [leading] company in the beauty industry investing a lot of money and resources in R&I. And the America’s Cup, which is the most difficult trophy in sailing, is today a challenge of technology.
“There is plenty of data, a lot of engineering behind this competition,” he continued. “This is another value that we have in common — that L’Oréal has been always fully committed to science, and we have this trophy that is embodying what is the best in terms of technology to make those boats fly. It’s incredible: Those boats, they go up to three times faster than the speed of the wind, and this is driven by a lot of tech research.”
Babule underlined how the research resulting from the America’s Cup is democratized in other industries. Such common values helped lead to the partnership between L’Oréal and the French team.
He personally has a long-standing love of sailing. Babule began at a young age thanks to his father, who loved the sport and racing boats. As soon he was able to swim, Babule was invited to sail.
“That’s how I learned,” he recalled. “Then, at 7 years old, I had my very first dingy — a very small one.”
By his eighth birthday, Babule was already racing in Spain, where he lived at the time. “I’ve been always very much involved in racing,” the executive said. That included at a national level.
“More recently, since I’m back in France, I try to do regattas,” he said. But that’s not always easy to fit into his busy agenda.
Regarding the America’s Cup, Babule said: “I feel very humble in front of those young women and sportsmen. I am really impressed by Manon Audinet, the skipper of the [French] women’s team, and also Enzo Balanger, the skipper of the youth team, because those are really, really talented people. For them, it’s the chance of their [lifetime].”
It’s not just about winning. He said Audinet undertands that she and her six teammates are opening a new era for women in sailing.
“That’s for them also very important,” said Babule. “I’m sure that many young girls are watching those women’s teams in this competition.”
That could make them dream of one day being on such boats. Yet there still remains a lot to do in enabling women to take part in high-level competitions in high-tech sports.
L’Oréal has been empowering women through many courses of action, such as the Fondation L’Oréal, starting in 2007. Its biggest program is For Women in Science, which annually honors five female scientists from five regions of the world, as well as young women scientists.
Also within the group’s foundation are initiatives such as Beauty for a Better Life, in which L’Oréal partners with organizations to offer free beauty and wellness treatments to women undergoing physical, psychological or social suffering, and the Women Climate Collective, which this year supports 20 young climate leaders in India.
The L’Oréal Fund for Women has backed by more than 420 frontline nonprofit organizations with almost 30 million euros.
Highly visible for consumers are the L’Oréal brands’ causes. L’Oréal Paris, for instance, initiated the Stand Up Against Street Harrassment program that trains women and men in bystander intervention. Around 3 million people have already taken part.
L’Oréal has also been a strong supporter of young people. The group has the L’Oréal for Youth program, which each year provides 25,000 professional opportunities.
“It’s linked to the famous motto that we have at L’Oréal, which is to ‘seize what is starting,’ and therefore nurturing the potential that we identify within the company,” he said. “Potential of young talents — that’s very important, potential also in science — when we try to combine what we know in green science to push L’Oréal into leadership in environmental development.”
The role of CFO is changing today, however.
“Why? Because the world is changing,” said Babule. “Today, financial performance is important, but social and environmental performance is as important. And we have embedded that into the strategy of L’Oréal.
“So my role today is really to make sure that both the financial and the non-financial performance fly at the same speed,” he explained.
This year is the first when the corporate sustainability reporting directive, or CSRD, will be put in place.
“Therefore in my role, as a financial director, I will be monitoring both the financial KPIs, but also the non-financial KPIs,” said Babule. “It’s the new way of looking at the performance.”
