Nicolas Hieronimus will succeed Jean-Paul Agon as the new CEO of L’Oréal on May 1 of next year, reports Women’s Wear Daily.

The storied beauty company has had only four CEOs in its century of existence and WWD recently asked our founder, Edouard Thoumyre, what sorts of qualities the company would be looking for in a successor.

Well regarded current CEO Jean-Paul Agon will be retiring after 15 years of service with the company. He will be remembered for his focus on making the company more international in operations, distribution and marketing and for numerous corporate sustainability initiatives he championed.

Joining the company in the late eighties, Nicolas Hieronimus rose through the ranks of L’Oréal first as a product manager, then as marketing director for the Laboratoires Garnier, and then general manager of several important international divisions. After working closely with Agon for many years and being groomed for the position of CEO, Heironimus was long considered the heir apparent.

We congratulate L’Oréal and Nicolas Hieronimus on the appointment!