Dive Brief:

• Revlon Inc. on Dec. 7 named Martine Williamson its new chief marketing officer, effective immediately, according to a press release. 

• She worked with Revlon as senior vice president, vice president and director of marketing in the U.S. and global teams from 2001 to 2015, her LinkedIn profile indicates. She most recently held the strategic marketing advisor role at Topix Pharmaceuticals. 

• Retail Dive confirmed with a company spokesperson that Williamson's predecessor, Serge Jureidini, is no longer with Revlon. Global brand president Silvia Galfo also left the company.

Dive Insight:

Williamson rejoins Revlon amid pandemic-driven changes in the beauty industry and after the company closed a financing deal that allowed it to avoid bankruptcy.

After 14 years at Revlon, Williamson left to serve as executive vice president and CMO of Glansaol, a beauty startup that went bankrupt in 2018. There she became president and general manager of Laura Geller after Glansaol acquired the brand.

Revlon joins the ranks of firms who have either hired or laid off a CMO in 2020, along with Gap, Lululemon and Lowe's. The added challenges posed by the pandemic have made the scope of the role broader and more complex, an acceleration of an existing trend that has prompted firms to reinvent the marketing position or eliminate it.

The shuffling in the marketing team comes at the end of a financially turbulent year for Revlon. In mid-November, bondholders agreed to a $236 million, or 69%, exchange offer of the bonds due February 2021, according to a company release. 

Earlier this year, the company announced a restructuring plan that it said would generate between $200 million to $230 million in cost reductions, 60% of which it expected to achieve through layoffs. Following news of its recapitalization initiative, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Revlon to CC in late April.

In S&P Global Ratings' press release last week, the ratings firm upgraded Revlon to CCC- following the completion of the debt deal, which it viewed as a default. S&P Global Ratings said it "continues to consider Revlon's capital structure as 'unsustainable,' and characterizes its liquidity as 'weak.'"

With decades of experience in the industry, Williamson takes over the role with knowledge of Revlon's audience. She led Revlon's brand communication strategy, the retail merchandising team and the Walmart team, where she helped establish Walmart's image as a beauty destination.