Governance

In 2020, Natura &Co reinforced the organization’s corporate governance model, based on a balance between the autonomy and interdependence of each business. This fundamental principle enabled the group to respond to the crisis caused by the new coronavirus, decentralizing decision-making processes and taking into account the distinct realities of the four business units: Natura &Co Latin America, Avon International, The Body Shop, and Aesop. At the same time, the frequent exchange of information between the different parts of the group via the governance structures in place enabled constant learning and sharing of good practices, generating highly positive results. At the executive level, worthy of note is the Group Operating Committee, or GOC (comprising the four CEOs of the business units and representatives of key areas, such as Finance, Legal and Operations and Logistics). To act on specific fronts, the organization has Networks of Excellence, multidisciplinary teams created in 2018. These are manned by executives from all the businesses and work on strategic fronts: Digital, Innovation, Sustainability and Retail (the Direct Selling Network of Excellence is being established).

The Natura &Co corporate governance structure was also strengthened by the composition of the Board of Directors, which in 2020 was increased to 12 members. Three of these came from Avon’s Board: Nancy Killefer, who was a senior associate at McKinsey & Company; Andrew G. McMaster Jr., who worked as executive vice president at Deloitte & Touche LLP; and W. Don Cornwell, who was CEO at Granite Broadcasting Corporation. The Board is headed by the co-chairmen Luiz Seabra, Guilherme Leal and Pedro Passos, the founders of Natura, and by the executive chairman Roberto Marques, also chief executive of the group and leader of the GOC. Eight members (or 67%) of the Board are independent and three (25%) are women. With broad international experience, the Natura &Co Board of Directors played a crucial role in diverse decisions taken by the group during the course of last year, from counselling on Avon’s integration to addressing COVID-19 and decisions regarding the group’s capital and corporate structure.