Vincent Maillard: Linda, it’s always a pleasure. Let’s start with the big picture: how would you define the mission of L’Oréal’s diversity and inclusion policy, especially in recruitment?

Linda Bergeron:Lovely to be here, Vincent. At L’Oréal, diversity, equity and inclusion is not a trend — it’s part of our DNA. L’Oréal Groupe has been committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for more than 20 years. Our visionary top leaders understood early on that having diverse perspectives around the table fosters long-term innovation. Today, we bring this vision into our recruitment strategy, ensuring that we recruit talents from all over the world with different experiences and backgrounds.

Vincent Maillard: Following the global shifts and debates of the past year — especially in the U.S.A — has your commitment faced any internal tension or reevaluation?

Linda Bergeron: Not at all. Our commitment is unwavering. We are who we are because of this deep conviction. Jean-Claude LE GRAND, our CHRO, has publicly reaffirmed this commitment on several occasions throughout 2025. One of our mottos is: “On ne lâche rien” — we’re not changing anything. Diversity is core to who we are as a beauty company. Beauty is diverse, and so must our teams be. We are proud of that and we continuously challenge ourselves to go further.

Vincent Maillard: The U.S. market is significant for L’Oréal. Has the external political and cultural climate affected your operations or mindset there?

Linda Bergeron: We see the U.S. as a highly diverse and dynamic market. We have an amazing research & innovation lab in North America in Clark that helps us creating more innovation, more personalization. Our ambition to be the most inclusive beauty leader and contribute to a society where people can feel safe, equal, respected and valued, will not change.

Vincent Maillard: What inspired your personal journey into diversity and inclusion work?

Linda Bergeron: I grew up in a tough suburb of Paris. My family came with nothing and built everything from scratch. I know firsthand how hard it can be to become who you want to be in difficult conditions. L’Oréal helped me to become who I wanted to be. I started in marketing, working on diverse beauty products like foundations for all skin tones and products for textured hair. Eventually, I moved to HR because I wanted to help build more inclusive teams. It’s about leaving the door open for others — especially those who might not had the chance I had.

Vincent Maillard: You mentioned that L’Oréal started formalizing diversity efforts quite early. Could you share more on that?

Linda Bergeron: We’ll be celebrating 20 years since we first appointed as SVP of Diversity & Inclusion — at L’Oréal U.S.A, no less. That move was spearheaded by Jean-Paul Agon, our then- L’Oréal U.S.A President and later CEO. We’ve since evolved the framework to include equity, implemented mandatory training on bias and created inclusive leadership programs for management. We also regularly survey our employees for feedback. We’re always trying to do better, listening, learning, always adjusting.

Vincent Maillard: What does “diversity” mean to L’Oréal today?

Linda Bergeron: We define it across four pillars: Gender and LGBTQIA+ inclusion; lead the way for more socioeconomic and multicultural diversity; advocate on physical, mental and social well-being; and valorise all ages and generations. We have many think tank and programs supporting employees and encouraging conversations. Trust is critical. If our employees don’t feel safe to share their experiences, then we don’t do our job right.

Vincent Maillard: And what about recruitment? How do you make external candidates feel that L’Oréal is a place for them?

Linda Bergeron: We’re committed to guaranteeing inclusive recruitment processes and to advocating for hiring and promoting each candidate in an ethical and equitable way. And for us, recruitment is about potential — not just competencies. That allows us to open the doors to more diverse profiles. We’ve created mandatory trainings for our hiring managers on inclusive recruitment and trainings for our recruiters on unconscious bias. Our philosophy is: meet the person first. Don’t create boxes. Give candidates space to unleash their potential. That’s how we try to be each day more inclusive.

Vincent Maillard: Do you track your progress? Are there metrics?

Linda Bergeron: While local regulations impact measurement capabilities differently across countries, France has proactively audited its recruitment processes for the past seven years through an external partner. This ensures true inclusivity and drives continuous improvement. Ultimately, our focus is on fostering a mindset shift, not just tracking numbers.

Vincent Maillard: Any story that stands out for you — one that captures the heart of L’Oréal’s diversity policy?

Linda Bergeron: I can think of so many examples. Some of the interns we recruited years ago are now leading as General Managers. They couldn’t have imagined this path back then, but they had what it takes. Helping people unlock their potential is what truly drive me.
I also think of our current CHRO, Jean Claude Le Grand, who has openly shared his struggle with dysorthographia. When he posted about it on LinkedIn, he inspired so many others to speak out. These stories are reminders that we all have our own struggles, but we also have many strengths, and we should try to focus on those strengths — and at L’Oréal, we try to help our employees to develop their potential and their skills.

Vincent Maillard: Looking ahead, how does technology intersect with your inclusion goals?

Linda Bergeron: Tech and AI are tools they can help to focus on what matters and help us provide more personalization. And we need to approach this with caution and ethics. For example, we have a strict charter and have chosen not to use AI-generated images in our advertising. Our tech must serve people, not replace or mislead them. Innovation is essential, but so is integrity.

Vincent Maillard: To wrap things up: what’s your message to the business world?

Linda Bergeron: We need to keep helping, keep supporting to show example and never to give lessons. And let’s try to do it together! For example, we created a youth-focused program which is called “L’Oréal for Youth”; we are part of the coalition “L’Oréal for All Generations”; we’re working with Singa, with Tent Partnership for Refugees on refugees inclusion. Join us! Let’s learn together to try to do more.

Vincent Maillard: Thank you, Linda. It’s been incredibly inspiring to hear that such an influencing group as L’Oreal remains true to its commitments and values despite the disturbed present times.

Linda Bergeron: Thank you Vincent for this opportunity to share about this topic and for your engagement. I just want to say a big thank you to all our L’Oréal teams for their amazing commitment. And to our external partners and experts who’ve helped us along the way.

Evaluating Board Performance

One key component of today’s high-performance boards is regular evaluation. In France, most CAC40 and SBF 120 companies evaluate their boards every three years, while smaller companies do so only from time to time when they do it. These evaluations help ensure that boards remain agile, adaptable, and capable of navigating the fast-evolving business landscape.

Key Themes Shaping Modern Boards

There are five main themes that are shaping the evolution of boards today:

Internationalization of Board Members:
Companies are becoming increasingly global, and boards must reflect this. To discuss international business decisions, you need board members who understand the geographical markets in question. Without this, boards risk being out of touch with the nuances of international operations.

Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence:
Technology, particularly AI, has dramatically shifted business models. In the past five years, the impact of digital transformation on corporate structures has been colossal, and boards must understand these dynamics to guide companies through the changes.

Succession Planning:
As many companies founded in the post-war era approach leadership transitions, succession planning has become crucial. Boards are more frequently renewed, and the length of board mandates has shortened from 6 years to 3 or 4 years. In today’s fast-moving world, boards must include people who reflect the current business climate and the challenges companies face.

Sustainability and ESG:
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are now a significant focus for boards. CSRD regulations are tightening globally, even in regions like Asia and the Middle East. As a result, boards are spending much more time addressing sustainability. In France, board members in ETIs (mid-sized companies) and larger firms must undergo mandatory training—several days of compulsory training per year for all board members.

Business Model Evolution:
The world is becoming increasingly uncertain, and business models are evolving rapidly. Just look at companies like NVIDIA, whose market capitalization now rivals that of entire stock exchanges. In this volatile environment, boards need to understand that their company could face massive disruption in a matter of years, even if it doesn’t seem likely today.

Evolving NED Profiles

Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) play a pivotal role in the success of boards, and their profiles are changing to meet the demands of modern businesses. In the past, boards often recruited people from familiar circles—”a system of proximity”. Today, companies must look far beyond their own networks to find the right talent. Recruitment operates on three levels. First, companies might turn to trusted friends and family to fill board positions. Second, they may tap into associations of certified directors. Finally, when seeking top international talent, companies often turn to specialized search firms to open doors to the international market.

When it comes to NED profiles, the key is to find individuals who bring deep expertise in the industry where the company operates. For instance, a banker has no place on the board of an industrial tech company. The best NEDs should also bring an address book of valuable contacts and be capable of detecting weak signals that could indicate future trends or challenges in the market. Moreover, diversity—both in terms of gender and international representation—is vital. In France, a law requires that 40% of board members in large companies must be women, and while not every country has adopted such regulations, the push for gender diversity is growing worldwide.

Recommendations for Building a High-Performance Board

To build a high-performance board, there are several key recommendations:
Bring an international dimension to the board:
High-performing boards need members with international profiles and networks that enrich strategic thinking.

Prioritize succession planning for key executives:
Boards need NEDs who can challenge leadership in a constructive way and push for early planning around succession.

Set up a structured recruitment process for top NEDs:
A rigorous recruitment and management system should be in place at the board level. High-performing boards require remarkable talent around the table, with members who pick up on weak signals about the business environment.

A lack of diversity, insufficient preparation, and a failure to recruit experts who understand the company’s industry are all factors that contribute to underperforming boards.

The Difference Between Board and Executive Roles

The role of the board differs significantly from that of executive management. Boards think in terms of the long-term future of the company, not the next quarter or fiscal year. Executive management focuses more on the operational side of things, while boards deal with issues like mergers and acquisitions, dividend distribution, and share buybacks.

Another key area where boards have a significant role is sustainability. Boards must decide what to do with the company’s cash flow, whether to reinvest, buy back shares, or distribute dividends. These decisions fall squarely within the board’s remit, and not the executive team’s.

Keys to a High-Performing Board

There are two key factors that distinguish high-performing boards:

The right NED hiring process:

Good executives do not automatically make good NEDs. When looking for NEDs, companies should seek certified individuals with experience at the board level. If a younger executive is brought on board, it’s essential to mitigate any risks through a strong selection and development process.

Flat team management:

Boards are not hierarchical. There’s no boss on a board—it’s a team with no hierarchical link between members, yet decisions must still be made. New NEDs must be trained to adopt the right posture and learn to be impactful in short, infrequent contributions. “If you don’t know your subject well, you’ll be swept away by the others.”

Conclusion

Building a high-performance board requires a focus on internationalization, diversity, and structured recruitment processes. NEDs must bring deep industry expertise and be able to challenge leadership constructively. As the world continues to change rapidly, boards need to be agile and forward-thinking, with members who understand both the present and the future of the business.

“In conclusion, high-performance boards of directors are essential for the long-term success of profit organizations. Their effectiveness in corporate governance, risk management, and strategic oversight is pivotal for guiding senior management and ensuring that the management team operates efficiently. Board members, particularly independent directors, must bring diverse expertise and experience to enhance board culture and performance. The effectiveness of the board is measured by how well it supports the executive team while balancing the day-to-day running of the company with broader strategic goals. Regular evaluations of board performance and the selection of members of the board who can challenge leadership constructively are key to improving board effectiveness. Furthermore, minimizing conflicts of interest and ensuring strong alignment with the executive director role are essential for good governance. By fostering a collaborative environment in board meetings and maintaining clear communication between the management team and the board, organizations can drive sustainable growth and resilience in the face of evolving challenges.”

Vincent Maillard (VM): Today, we are focusing on the use of generative AI in Human Resources. Grégory, this is truly your area of ​​expertise at Danone. To begin, what is generative AI and what are its strengths and limitations?

Grégory Chocoloff (GC): Many people think that AI is a recent phenomenon, but in reality, its origins date back to the 1950s, in American universities. The term “artificial intelligence” was even invented for marketing purposes to obtain funding, playing on the appeal and fear it could arouse. Today, it is interesting to see that we continue to capitalize on this effect to promote new products. So AI has been around for a long time, whether in industry, commerce, video games or science fiction literature. However, it has only really become accessible to the general public in recent years, with the arrival of generative models.

Generative AI, or “GenAI”, is the result of several decades of progress in artificial intelligence. We started with classic AI, based on procedural rules, and then we evolved towards machine learning, where algorithms learn through a system of rewards and penalties based on the results. Then, “deep learning” made it possible to simulate the functioning of human neurons, thanks to considerable computing power. Today, generative AI combines all these technologies and offers a more accessible user interface, allowing anyone to ask questions in natural language and get answers without having any particular technical skills.

The change isn’t in the output but in the input. Previously, users had to follow precise methodologies; today, anyone can ask questions, even ambiguous ones, through simple prompts, without requiring technical skills. This accessibility has empowered individuals, enabling what is often referred to as “human augmentation.” However, this rapid evolution also introduces challenges and risks.
Generative AI lacks common sense—it cannot discern good from bad, true from false, or public from private information. It generates responses based solely on the input it receives, which means ambiguous or poorly formulated queries can produce misleading results. These responses, though convincing, may amplify errors.
Studies by the Big Four reveal that generative AI enhances performance for high-performing teams but exacerbates inefficiencies in underperforming ones, widening the gap rather than leveling the field. Human expertise remains essential for applying common sense and ensuring responsible use.
Generative AI is not a magical solution to all problems. Its effectiveness depends on how it is used. As the initial hype diminishes, maturity and experience in leveraging these tools will lead to better outcomes.

Nevertheless, “GenAI”, due to its accessibility and capabilities, presents many risks. For example, models available to the general public (such as ChatGPT) are very sensitive to what is called “hallucinations”, i.e. the generation of an answer that seems in every way correct and precise, but which is, in reality, totally erroneous. The same goes for the preservation of intellectual property: these models are often fed by the information available on the web, but how can we differentiate a result that uses material protected by copyright?

It is therefore essential to know the limits of these tools in order to be able to properly assess their potential and risks. This is particularly true for areas related to Human Resources.

VM: As genAI is widely used now in HR, what are the risks you identified related to this trend?

GC: Generative AI has enormous potential in the field of HR, thanks to applications allowing the improvement of the user experience, the generation of documents and the automation of tasks. For example, it allows to analyze CVs much more precisely and make immediate recommendations for vacant positions, which is crucial in the current context of the war for talent. It can also speed up the creation of job descriptions and offer natural language chatbots to support employees and candidates. Some tools even allow to analyze job interview sessions, thus providing additional elements to help recruiters make decisions. HR can thus save precious time and focus on the most promising candidates and activities with higher added value.

However, we must also be aware of the risks associated with generative AI, particularly in the HR field where it has a direct impact on candidates and employees. This potential for innovation and power makes AI a tool whose limits and rules are essential to know, not to mention legal regulations. In my point of view, one of the main dangers is that AI does not have common sense. It cannot distinguish between good and bad, true and false; it simply responds based on the data it has or generates. This can lead to erroneous or biased results if the training data is imperfect. For example, a recruiting algorithm trained on the company’s history risks reproducing conscious or unconscious biases of recruiters and managers. Unlike a human, an insufficiently parameterized AI can amplify these biases on a large scale and without limits, making the recruitment process potentially discriminatory.

VM:  How can companies avoid the pitfalls that you identified?

GC: My first piece of advice is to start with education: understand the basics of AI, its limitations and risks, and not let yourself be influenced by marketing. This education must be done at all levels of the organization, but of course especially at the Leadership level. It is essential to have a good understanding of ethical issues and current regulations, because AI is becoming omnipresent. Every manager must have a minimum of knowledge in this area.

Then, it is crucial to resist the pressure linked to the buzz around AI. Today, everyone wants to position themselves on “GenAI” because it is what sells and attracts visibility. However, an immature AI strategy, deployed on a bad process or with insufficient training and testing, can represent a huge risk for an organization, both in terms of results and costs or image. You have to take a step back, involve the right expertise, and develop a strategy that takes into account the many risks associated with a technology that is still in development.

My third piece of advice, especially in the HR field, is to involve experts to ensure that AI is used ethically and in compliance with regulations, especially those of the European Union. It is important not to rely on the information provided by technology vendors and it is always important to have an independent view. Furthermore, since we are talking about human management, it is essential not to delegate the decision-making process entirely to AI. The results provided by AI must be interpreted and validated by HR professionals to ensure their relevance and fairness.

VM: What would you recommend as the best practices for integrating generative AI into the HR management field?

GC: The integration of AI into HR must be accompanied by adequate training of teams so that they know how to use these tools effectively. At Danone, for example, we have set up compliance and ethics committees to assess and supervise the use of AI. We are also committed to training our employees on the potential and limitations of AI.

It is crucial to view AI as a tool to augment human capabilities and not as a magic solution. AI can improve productivity and efficiency, but it must be used with discernment and responsibility.

VM: Eventhough it is very difficult to predict anything in the ongoing fast changing context, coulc you share your vision about the future of generative AI in HR?

GC: Generative AI represents a technological revolution comparable to the advent of the Internet. It will undoubtedly transform many aspects of HR. However, it is imperative to adopt it thoughtfully and ethically, without fear but with caution. Jobs are evolving, and skills will have to adapt to this new reality. AI should not be seen as a threat, but as a powerful tool at the service of humans and productivity.

In conclusion, it is important to understand that this is a very broad, complicated but also fascinating subject. A successful integration of Generative AI (and even “normal” AI) in HR relies on a combination of technological innovations, ethical rigor, and continuous training. By respecting these principles, we can maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing its risks.

VM: Thank you very much, Gregory, for this detailed insight on Generative AI and its implications in Human Resources.

GC: Thank you, Vincent. It was a pleasure to share these thoughts.