Chair Trip 2022-2023

From May 10th-12th 2023, the students of the L&D chair embarked on an exciting journey to Düsseldorf, wherein the students not only got to explore German biergartens and experience cultural immersion but also they got to learn more about the L'Oréal programmes implemented in the DACH region to ensure best-in-class DE&I practices.

The trip was packed with interesting seminars and learning opportunities for the students. The Chair students were welcomed to the L'Oréal Düsseldorf office by Johanna Herfurtner, Brand General Manager American Makeup Brands. Then Inga Hammer, Senior Business Leader for Operational Marketing/Product Operational Marketing spoke about NYX and gave a brief introduction about the market share of NYX products and their channel value share in Germany. She also spoke about the NYX brand strategy which helped the chair students understand the brand values and incorporate them in their projects. This was followed by a session on Diversity of Consumers by Ilka Sorg, Senior Category Insights Manager who gave an insightful presentation on different aspects of diversity and its importance in a corporate environment. Following this, Oskar José Isenberg Lima, HR Director, Professional Products Division & DE&I Lead, DACH talked about HR DE&I policies at L'Oréal and explained how he built the DE&I Action Committee within the company through networking and strategic planning. The day proceeded with an introduction by Sarah Aghahassani, Senior Retail Brand Manager & DE&I Lead SEMO to the Group's Home@LOréal programme and its objectives. Then, the students were briefed about how LOréal aims to create an inclusive workspace through its Out@LOréal programme by Jennifer Onda, Brand Director LL. Johanna Herfurtner then spoke about the Brave Together campaign by Maybelline New York which sheds light on mental health, depression and anxiety. Then, after a quick session prepared by Stefanie Schadowski, Retail Education Project Manager on Family@LOréal, the students were ushered to Düsseldorf Arcaden for a store check with focus on DE&I in makeup sales. The students checked out the NYX space at Müller under the guidance of Johanna Herfurtner who explained to them the brand policies to maximize sales at the store. The students also visited the NYX retail space inside the dm store in the same mall where Timo Basilowski, Key Account Manager shared some key consumer insights that served as crucial knowledge for the students for attuning their project ideas to serve consumer needs.

Overall, this trip was an important learning experience for the students as they got to understand the regional differences in business strategies which enabled them to broaden their horizons. And of course, getting to try different German beers was an added bonus that made this trip an unforgettable experience for the students!