When he was at HEC Montréal yesterday as part of the Professor for a Day program, Jochen Zaumseil, President and CEO of L’Oréal Canada, talked with HEC Montréal MBA students about his company’s mission. In particular, he described its human resources practices and how they are harmonized not only with the corporate culture, but also the country where the branch is located.
Mr. Zaumseil reminded his audience that L’Oréal is constantly changing, given the very nature of the industry. The company is renowned for its brands and is the world leader in the cosmetics industry. Since it was founded 95 years ago, it has spread to 150 countries and its sales have now reached $22.5 billion a year. L’Oréal is also the world leader in R&D in this field, employing 2,800 people in its research facilities and allocating 3% of its revenue.
The company shows the same leadership in Canada: it reported healthy growth in sales in 2002, of 14.1%, for an enviable total of $635 million. The President was particularly proud of the type of managers hired by L’Oréal. "We look for entrepreneurs, creative and passionate people, non-conformists, with a strong international bent. They are often young, and we have no hesitation about giving them considerable responsibility. It’s a deliberate choice on our part that forces us to be innovative and keeps us all young!"
Jochen Zaumseil himself is a good example of the kind of people L’Oréal looks for. He has worked in six different countries, including Venezuela, Mexico, his native Germany and now Canada. When he was asked for his impressions regarding the adaptability required, he emphasized that L’Oréal listens to its customers and does not try to produce uniform products or to impose its ways of doing things on local branches. It succeeds very well in this way. Individual managers are moved from country to country and deal with different brands, so as to develop good reflexes.
He will be sharing his vision on this topic with students. "If you don’t stand back and look at your performance regularly, you’re not a good manager," he says. "Your success in a company doesn’t depend on what you have done, but on what you’re doing now." Good advice for anyone preparing a career, international or otherwise.
From left to right, in front of the class of MBA students: Pierre Laurin, former Director of HEC Montréal, Alain Gosselin, Director of the Human Resources Management Department, Jochen Zaumseil, President and CEO of L’Oréal Canada, and Michèle Bergevin, who teaches the Human Resources Management and Customer Service course to which Mr. Zaumseil was invited.
