Lindsay Owen-Jones to step down as L'Oréal honorary chairman

PARIS - Lindsay Owen-Jones, who headed L'Oreal for almost 20 years, is preparing to leave the French cosmetics giant, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Honorary chairman of L'Oreal since 2011, Owen-Jones wrote in a letter to Chief Executive Jean-Paul Agon that he planned to "pass the baton" and step down from the board on April 26.

Owen-Jones, 67, led the group from 1988 until 2006, when he split the role of chairman and CEO, leaving the day-to-day running of the group to Agon.

He was the mastermind behind L'Oreal's expansion from a Europe-focused company into the world's biggest cosmetics group through a series of successful acquisitions that have helped propel growth despite the economic downturn.