MUMBAI: L’Oréal has announced the appointment of Amit Jain as its new India managing director succeeding Jean-Christophe Letellier who will shift within L’Oréal group after a five-year stint in the country. Jain, who will join from August this year, will be L’Oréal India’s first Indian managing director after the French cosmetics giant entered in 1991. In his last role, he was the MD – North-West Europe for Akzo Nobel, based in Amsterdam. Jain has also worked in companies including ICI, Coca- Cola and Viacom since the last three decades.“We believe that Amit’s rich global experience with a deep understanding of India, transformational leadership skills and inclusive personality will be an important asset in further developing L’Oréal’s business in India. His mission is to build on our rich talent base and global brands, to make L’Oréal India an engine for growth in Asia,” said Pierre-Yves Arzel, Vice President – South Asia Pacific Zone, L’Oréal.The company said under Jean-Christophe Letellier’s leadership, India saw significant sales growth, revolutionized digital and e-commerce platforms, and achieved ambitious targets in skill development and environmental sustainability.The company, which is almost synonymous with Bollywood actress and its brand ambassador Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in India, face competition from global rivals Unilever and Procter & Gamble. But unlike most global rivals, L’Oreal follows an autonomous policy where most business decisions and product development are done in India itself.