If you love shopping at Sephora, you have to know Jacques Levy.
The former president and CEO of Sephora Worldwide was responsible for the beauty chain’s exponential growth. By the end of 2010, Sephora had 673 stores in Europe, with 34 new openings during the year, and 276 outlets in North America. Worldwide, the chain had 1,070 stores, including 84 openings.
Unfortunately, Levy passed away on January 1. He was 62 and had been suffering from a long-term illness.
Most recently, Levy also worked for Guess as an advisor to Paul Marciano, one of the Guess founders.
He had been appointed president and CEO of Sephora in late 2005 and stepped down from the role in March 2011. Before taking on the job, Levy also served as president of Sephora Europe for two years, while overseeing the store’s Asia operations.
He became part of LVMH after moving from Staples International and held various executive positions at Disney before that. Levy also worked at Darty and Galeries Lafayette/Nouvelles Galeries.
Levy was awarded a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur and was inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame in 2009.
He is survived by a wife and three children. Funeral services were held for him in Los Angeles on Monday.