MAC Cosmetics has appointed James Aquilina as International & Global Commercial Senior Vice President and General Manager. He succeeds Mary Renaud who retired last month after a stellar 35-year career with the company.
In this new role, Aquilina takes ownership of MAC Cosmetics’s Global Commercial Strategy, including responsibility for the International P&L and Global Retail. He will work across regions, lead global programmes, and forecast consumer trends. He will work closely with Global Marketing to create international marketing activities for MAC Cosmetics.
Aquilina will also spearhead the creation of a new retail and consumer-centric internal organisation, and lead the development of an integrated global omnichannel strategy.
Aquilina has spent 13 years at parent group The Estée Lauder Companies, where he led 12 brands across three different regions. He was originally part of the Travel Retail Americas Team as Senior Account Coordinator before being promoted to Regional Director of Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, and La Mer.
From 2011-2014, Aquilina held the role of Regional Director of Travel Retail Europe Middle East and Africa for Estée Lauder, Tom Ford Beauty, Aramis, and Designer Fragrances. In this position, he helped grow Estée Lauder to become the #1 skincare brand in EMEA travel retail. He also helped create a Sub-Sahara Africa distribution model for the brand.
His most recent role was Vice President/General Manager International of Tom Ford Beauty. In this role, Aquilina grew Tom Ford Beauty’s regional market share, propelling it to the 25th position in global prestige rankings. He also drove its international business to become 85% of the global mix for the brand. He was also integral to the development of Tom Ford Beauty’s assortment strategy, and integrated luxury fragrance and cosmetics into the SMC channels. He also launched the brand into TMall.com in China.
Aquilina brings more than 17 years of travel retail experience to his new role with MAC Cosmetics. A statement by the company said, “As MAC Cosmetics continues to innovate in the retail sector, James’ inspiring leadership skills and fresh perspective on global retail will further energise the MAC International & Global Commercial team.”
