Much of the company’s international expansion and success is credited to Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, who transformed L’Oréal from a small French business to an international cosmetics phenomenon with strategic vision and precise brand management. During his almost 20 years as CEO and chairman, Owen-Jones divested weak brands, invested heavily in product innovation, acquired ethnically diverse brands, and expanded into markets no one had dreamed of, including China, South America, and the former Soviet Union. His quest: to achieve diversity, “meet the needs of men and women around the globe, and make beauty products available to as many people as possible.”