19. Marie-Evelyne François, L’Oréal Canada - Creating the beauty that moves the world

Free to Grow in Forestry - A podcast working to move #ForestryForward Welcome to the nineteenth episode of the Free to Grow in Forestry Podcast series where our host Kelly Cooper, CEO and Founder of Centre for Social Intelligence is joined by guest Marie-Evelyne François, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer of L’Oreal Canada. Marie-Evelyne talks to us about what it means to be an inclusive leader, what progress has been made at L’Oreal so far, and how they’re working towards creating a culture where everyone can be their authentic self and offer experiences that reflect and recognize diversity and individuality. Marie-Evelyne François (she/her) is the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at L’Oreal Canada (loreal.com). Marie-Evelyne began her career in Health Care Management in Montreal before joining the L’Oréal Group 23 years ago as a financial controller in Germany. Throughout her varied career within L’Oréal both in Germany and in Canada, she has held various positions in Industrial Logistics, Operations and Supply Chain Management. With strong, thoughtful, and sincere convictions, she has been a passionate advocate from the very beginning of L’Oréal Canada’s DEI journey, first playing the role of DEI Pillar co-Lead, then moving into the role of Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Recognized for her pragmatic, measured and collaborative approach, Marie-Evelyne has demonstrated cross-functional leadership qualities and an ability to instigate transformative change, with emotional intelligence and the ability to rally key players. As an inclusive manager-coach with high ethical standards, she is a firm believer in the contribution of each individual to the collective success of the organization. Marie-Evelyne is proud to contribute to L’Oréal’s goal of becoming the leader in inclusive beauty. Her mission is to create an ecosystem/culture where everyone dares to be their authentic self, realizes their highest potential, and truly feels that they belong. Leveraging the richness of L’Oréal Canada’s diversity, she constantly strives to amplify the connections it has with its consumers and with the communities it operates in. Together, we can move #ForestryForward. Learn more at freetogrowinforestry.ca ---- This podcast series is brought to you by the Canadian Institute of Forestry and the Centre for Social Intelligence. The Canadian Institute of Forestry (cif-ifc.org) is the national voice of forest practitioners with an interdisciplinary membership across Canada working to ensure our forests are vibrant, healthy and sustainable. The Centre for Social Intelligence (centreforsocialintelligence.ca) empowers individuals and organizations to create inclusion and diversity in the workplace.