UBC Sauder graduate and marketing leader has an eye for beauty and a mindset for business
Nathalia Del Moral Fleury’s passion blooms as General Manager for Yves Rocher in North America
As a trained artist, Nathalia Del Moral Fleury has always been visually oriented, but it wasn’t until she graduated from the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at the UBC Sauder School of Business in 2011 that she realized she could transform her passion for beauty into the cosmetics industry.
Today, Del Moral Fleury is the General Manager of North America for the French beauty company, Yves Rocher. She has helped grow the company into the number one French brand across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and according to online beauty platform Cosmetify, it’s currently the fourth most popular cosmetic label in the world. The company is widely known for its sustainable approach to business and its strong preference for all things natural. Del Moral Fleury says she’s proof that, with the right education and an open mind, it’s possible to turn a personal passion into a solid career path.
Del Moral Fleury took an unusual route to business. She was first trained as an artist and painter and at the age of 21, she opened her own graphic design business in Mexico. Once her company reached the point of scale up, she decided to completely change course. “While I loved to create beautiful visuals, I came to recognize it was the business, the strategy and the consulting that captivated my interests. It was time for me get more tools to develop my career. That’s when I decided to go to UBC Sauder and obtain my Master of Management degree.”
Del Moral Fleury, who spent her childhood divided between Canada and Mexico, along with schooling in France, says her identity often depends on the day or the mood. UBC Sauder’s rich cohort from Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Europe really spoke to her. “The international element was important to me and I was attracted by the diversity of the students. The fact that their backgrounds included engineers, artists and writers told me something about the diversity and values of the school. I knew it was the place for me.”
Following her graduation from UBC Sauder in 2011, Del Moral Fleury landed the job she wanted: at L’Oréal in Montreal. Her goal was to apply what she had learned at a large company. “My master’s degree definitely helped open the door,” she says. It was at L’Oréal that she first recognized how her business acumen and her artistic spirit could be combined for huge impact.
After a two-year stint at L’Oréal, followed by two years at an advertising agency, she was headhunted for a position at Yves Rocher. There was clearly an alignment between beauty and business that was starting to shape a clear path for Del Moral Fleury.
Shortly after her recruitment to Yves Rocher, she was promoted to General Manager for North America - a post she has held since 2018. Just 32 years old at the time, she attributes her success to her focus on collaboration in her leadership style and her deep awareness of how she can leverage what inspires her into business practice. “Yves Rocher is a company with a strong sustainability focus and that matters to me. I was familiar with the line because I had used their products since I was a teenager. I also believe in their philosophy that nature is the most precious element in business.”
Yves Rocher, she says, is a company respectful of both skin and the planet. “We are working to reduce our footprint every way we can,” she says. And her own long-term management goal is to “embody the strong environmental values that have always characterized the brand.”
When Del Moral Fleury needs new books for leadership inspiration, she taps back into her UBC Sauder network, often asking her marketing research professor for recommendations. She herself has gone back to the university to talk to the current cohort of Master of Management students. “I love branding and marketing,” she says. “But it was the personal development that UBC Sauder fostered. I took away mostly the human side of my degree, what I learned about teamwork, collaboration and capitalizing on your particular talents.”
What advice does she offer for others seeking their career calling?
“Concentrate on your strengths,” she says. “Once you understand what you can uniquely offer, you can build a career with passion and purpose.”
First published by the Globe Content Studio