Dominique De Celles, VP/GM, L’Oréal Paris, Montreal

She’s risen to the top at the biggest beauty brand in the business overseeing L’Oréal Paris, the largest division of Montreal-based L’Oréal Canada. Sunni Boot, president of Zenith Optimedia, which has L’Oréal as a client, says: ‘She’s one of the top five leaders in the country when it comes to packaged goods.’

With most of the creative coming from outside of Canada, De Celles has been forced to get innovative to ensure that the brand stands out, and her marketing savvy shows. Some of her biggest coups have been the lucrative tie-in between the brand and ratings dominator Canadian Idol and landing L’Oréal as the title sponsor of L’Oréal Fashion Week every spring and fall in Toronto. A slew of Marketer of the Year and Woman of the Year titles have come in recent years, including from the Marketing Association of Montreal and Montreal Chamber of Commerce.

Beyond the boardroom:

* De Celles is very active in Look Good… Feel Better, a program that helps give self-esteem back to women with cancer. She was its co-chair last year.