United States
Executive Leadership
Executive Leadership
Our team of senior executives is focused on strategically growing our business for the long term. They bring multinational talent, creativity, and humanity to the leadership of our organization. In brief interviews below we offer a personal glimpse of our leaders.
William P. Lauder
Executive Chairman
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William P. Lauder
Executive Chairman
William P. Lauder, son of Leonard and Evelyn Lauder, and grandson of Estée and Joseph Lauder, became Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2009. During his previous five-year tenure as Chief Executive Officer, he expanded the Company’s international presence and distribution channels and greatly strengthened the brand portfolio. Mr. Lauder joined the company in 1986 as New York Regional Marketing Director for Clinique, eventually running its worldwide business. He led the creation of the Origins brand and its innovative store-within-a store concept as well as directing the company’s freestanding stores and Internet business. He is on the faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches “Decision Making in the Leadership Chair,” a course he designed for second-year MBA students.
Q&A
What excites you about coming to work each day?
First and foremost, it’s the people who work here — their commitment to our brands is palpable and energizing. It’s the intellectual challenge. It’s the competition. It’s the excitement of doing great for our consumers — helping people feel better about themselves, helping them unlock their own beauty.
Why is continuous learning important at The Estée Lauder Companies?
Learning is an integral part of our culture. We continuously ask ourselves: Is what we’re doing today going to be relevant to the consumer in the future? We insist that our leaders never stop exploring new ideas, and we expect that mind-set to trickle down throughout the company. We want employees to feel like they have permission to push the envelope and think differently, because we have to constantly reinvent ourselves. Ultimately no one individual has a monopoly on insight and brilliance. Innovation comes from every chair.
You’ve been championing the Company’s online/digital efforts from their inception. What were some of the smartest decisions the Company made in this arena?
When we turned on our first e-commerce site in 1996, it was controversial because our retail partners perceived it as a threat to their business. We understand now that our online presence enhances our overall business. The multichannel consumer is a far more valuable customer who spends more on our brands than the consumer who shops exclusively online or in store. The highest click rates on our websites are for the store locators. Many consumers still want to know where they can see, touch, feel and smell the product before they buy it.
What core capabilities will future leaders need to take the business to the next level of growth?
The technical skills companies need will almost certainly change, but the core capabilities needed for effective leadership — curiosity, adaptability, communication, imagination — will be the same. Leaders have to be bold and have the courage to try something new. This applies to their careers and to the business itself. I encourage young leaders to live in another country or region, to experience another culture — which pushes you to explore and learn.
What’s different about leading a family company versus a nonfamily company?
Leading a family company and being a member of that family is both a pressure and a privilege. In many ways, the stakes are higher in a family company because your name is on the door and you can’t just walk away if things go south. You are the keeper of the culture — it’s your responsibility to honor and respect the past without letting it hold the company back from its future potential. At the same time, there is a real advantage to leading a company that is focused on longevity and on generating long-term value. We practice what I call “patient capitalism” — we have a higher tolerance for long-term investments that yield greater returns 5, 10, 15 years into the future.
How do you maintain a family culture in such a large, spread out company?
Our definition of family goes beyond the family name — it is broader and more inclusive. It involves a sense of belonging. It’s about those human touches we put into our company that maintain an ethos that makes people feel they are welcome — because they are. We try to maintain a warmth and friendliness that is, hopefully, part of what most families are like, which makes everybody feel they’re a part of the family in one way, shape or form. It’s becoming a lost definition of family, but it still works for us.
What do you hope to accomplish by the end of your career? What do you want your leadership legacy to be?
The most important thing I want to do is to help set our company on a course for sustainable excellence and leadership in our sector that will last for many generations beyond the influence I might have as an individual. I hope that through the executives whose careers we’ve nurtured our company will continue to adapt and thrive while maintaining the value systems that have allowed us to get to where we are today — and those values endure for many generations to come.
What is your definition of beauty?
My definition of beauty is the tremendous diversity we have inside of our company. Diversity of our people, diversity of our brands, the diversity of our consumers and the diversity of their definition of beauty is what connects us all together with all of our brands.
Fabrizio Freda
President and Chief Executive Officer
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Fabrizio Freda
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fabrizio Freda is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies, the global leader in prestige beauty. He joined the company in March 2008 as President and Chief Operating Officer and assumed the CEO position in July 2009. As President and CEO, Mr. Freda is responsible for the company’s overall vision and strategy, financial objectives and investment priorities. He is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Under his leadership, the company’s multiple engines of growth have delivered record sales and enabled profitable growth. Mr. Freda is a strategically-focused, financially-disciplined, results-oriented leader with a proven track record in the consumer products industry. Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Mr. Freda had an impressive 20-year career at Procter & Gamble (P&G), where he was responsible for numerous operating, marketing and strategic efforts spanning different geographies and categories. He held positions of increasing responsibility in the Health and Beauty Care and Global Snacks divisions at P&G, with his last role as President, Global Snacks. Mr. Freda serves on both the Board of Directors of BlackRock Inc. and the Advisory Board of the Global Business Initiative at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Mr. Freda has been presented with Italy’s Cavaliere del Lavoro by President Sergio Mattarella, and has been named to Barron’s exclusive list of the World’s Best CEO’s.
Q&A
What excites you about coming to work each day?
I come to work every day excited and happy to be here. And it’s because of the people, it’s because of the competitive spirits that we have, the creativity and innovation and new ideas, and frankly because of the intellectual challenge — it’s fantastic. There’s an amazing mix of historic strengths and future potential that fuels our efforts.
Can you explain the concept of “leadership from every chair?”
“Leadership from every chair” means leadership from each person in the company, even if they started yesterday. It is leadership that comes from engagement and participation, not from authority. It stems from our deep-rooted commitment to employee education and to developing future leaders. Providing employees the opportunity to continuously learn is extremely important to us and to the future of our organization. By listening to the unique perspectives of our employees we are better able to recognize and respond to the changing beauty needs of our global consumers.
Tell us about your leadership style.
I tend to lead by example. I really never ask people to do something that I’m not willing to do myself. I believe in setting a vision that reflects the Company’s market position and aspirations for future success. With a vision in place, we determine the results we want to generate 3, 5 and 10 years from now and we develop a strategy to get there. And then, we get to work. It’s a reverse engineering process versus a continuous improvement approach. We set the challenge at the beginning of the journey, and at the end, it’s important to acknowledge and thank everyone for what they’ve done to make it happen.
Why is luxury/prestige beauty a good business proposition?
Luxury cosmetics is a great industry, and it’s an exciting time to be a leader in this business. Prestige beauty is a large market — $100 billion and forecasted to grow by 4 to 5 percent in the next few years. And, it’s changing at a faster pace than ever before. We are witnessing a significant transformation in the world — much of which is led by women — and that is having an impact on the prestige beauty business. More women have joined the global workforce, and the growing 65+ population has more disposable income for use on luxury goods. And, with the rise of the millennial consumer, we’re seeing a revolution in where and how frequently women shop, requiring us to reimagine the retail experience.
How does the Company maintain relevance in a rapidly evolving global economy?
We recognize the diversity of the world we live in, and we understand the need to celebrate beauty, not standardize it. We create products, services and experiences that meet the specific needs of diverse consumers, and we aim to provide world class products that have local relevance in each market. To us, diversity is not a source of complexity but a gift of opportunity. With our multiple engines of growth across brands, demographics, geographies and channels, our capacity for creativity and innovation, and our ability to tailor products to meet the tastes of a highly diverse consumer base, I believe The Estée Lauder Companies is ideally positioned to succeed in this globalized, evolving world.
Describe what it is like to lead a company that has strong family leadership and family values.
I’ve worked for a number of global public companies — from mass to high-end luxury and prestige — and I can tell you that family businesses are the best. It’s a special advantage in the luxury space, because the authenticity and deep commitment to quality cannot be matched. Family companies are focused on and invest in the long term. They focus on the enduring success of the company. At our company, family values are embedded deeply in the culture. I feel privileged to serve as a nonfamily member CEO at The Estée Lauder Companies. Our success will always reflect the family’s passion, patience, obsession with quality, warmth, respect and commitment to be the best for generations to come.
Roberto Canevari
Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain
Roberto Canevari was named Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain in July 2021. In this role, he oversees The Estée Lauder Companies' Global Supply Chain operations, including end-to-end procurement, manufacturing, planning, quality assurance and logistics for the company’s diverse brand portfolio across all channels and geographies. Mr. Canevari is a dynamic and strategic leader who has led and transformed the supply chain organizations of several global, luxury and brand-led companies. Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies, he served as Executive Vice President of Supply Chain, Europe, at Unilever PLC where he oversaw end-to-end supply chain operations for the company’s European business. In addition to being a highly experienced and innovative expert in his field, Mr. Canevari has a deep passion for driving an organization’s culture and values.
Stéphane de La Faverie
Executive Group President
Stéphane de La Faverie is Executive Group President at The Estée Lauder Companies. As Executive Group President, Stéphane’s portfolio of brands includes Estée Lauder and AERIN Beauty; Jo Malone London; Le Labo; KILIAN PARIS, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, Darphin Paris and LAB Series; DECIEM (The Ordinary, NIOD, and Avestan); Too Faced; Smashbox; and GLAMGLOW. In addition to his brand portfolio, Stéphane drives integrated planning and end-to-end business operations enterprise-wide.
Stéphane has an outstanding track record of building and leading global brands, a deep expertise across categories and channels, and a keen understanding of local relevance. Stéphane’s strength as an inclusive and empathic leader and his ability to balance emotional inspiration, authenticity, and strategic insights to drive long-term, sustainable growth, have helped him successfully build his portfolio of brands and nurture a winning leadership team.
Prior to his current role, Stéphane most recently served as Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Global Brand President, Estée Lauder and AERIN Beauty from 2020-2022. In that position, he helped build fragrance as another powerful engine of growth for the company, while also leveraging his skin care expertise to drive differentiation for cult-favorite brands in this category and tapping into the growing men’s skin care market. During his successful leadership of Estée Lauder as Global Brand President from 2016-2022, Stephane helped make the company’s namesake brand one of the world’s most beloved prestige beauty brands, connecting with consumers across all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities.
Carl Haney
Executive Vice President, Research, Product and Innovation Officer
Carl Haney is Executive Vice President, Research, Product and Innovation Officer. In this role, he leads and oversees the company’s scientists, product development leaders, and innovation centers around the world. He also serves as Chair of ELC’s Global Crisis Leadership Team and is responsible for overseeing the company’s planning and response for all emerging issues, issues and crises globally. Mr. Haney, a global leader in the R&D and Innovation industries, joined The Estée Lauder Companies in 2012 after more than 25 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G). During his tenure at P&G, Mr. Haney held numerous leadership positions around the world in the Home, Health, Grooming and Beauty categories, including Vice President, R&D, Male Grooming, Gillette, Braun and Devices, where he led teams across innovation, product, packaging, process development and engineering.
Q&A
How do you describe your job to someone outside the company?
I have broad responsibilities to deliver innovation, creativity, product, packaging, and ideas to grow this company. The way I explain that to my children is that my job is to make people to look and feel beautiful, more confident, and empowered. And it’s not just about products. It’s about creating the future. My kids always want to know how my day was, and my son always asks: “Did you invent anything today?” That simple question is what matters to me.
What drew you to work for The Estée Lauder Companies?
I joined The Estée Lauder Companies to work on innovation, technology, creativity, ideas and imagination. The Company has a culture of strong family values and that culture also allows me and my team to be ourselves and work side by side with others on ideas.
What excites you about coming to work each day?
My days are unpredictable, which means they are exciting, fun and challenging. We are working on extraordinary things, managing almost incomprehensible complexity, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. I can get a lot of work done informally as well as in formal meetings. And finally, I just love the people I work for, the people I work with, and the teams that I help lead across a broad area.
Why is The Estée Lauder Companies a good training ground for tomorrow’s business leaders?
The diversity of experiences and opportunities makes this company a great training ground. Someone can be working on strategy one day, and then they’re working on a brand. You have someone in corporate innovation — who then works on the launch of a line of 120 products. Being able to tackle the most difficult problems in the industry and succeed at them, while adapting to change, is an exceptional experience.
What is the most inspiring aspect of the R&D world right now? Based on your experience, where does the best inspiration or innovation come from?
I define R&D very broadly, not only in terms of science and molecules. Personally, I’m inspired by our people — the people that work for me and the people I’m surrounded by. From an R&D perspective, I’m inspired by what is taking place in Silicon Valley, in Boston, in Tel Aviv, in London, in Korea.
What is your definition of beauty?
I think beauty is an attitude, a mindset. Beauty is powerful. It’s empowering, and it empowers. As a scientist at The Estée Lauder Companies, I work to deliver on the promise — to meet individual beauty needs — regardless of who you are, where you are or how old you are.
Jane Hertzmark Hudis
Executive Group President
Jane Hertzmark Hudis is an Executive Group President at The Estée Lauder Companies, a position she has held since 2020. As Executive Group President, Jane is responsible for a portfolio of brands including: La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics; TOM FORD, BALMAIN BEAUTY; M·A·C; Clinique, Origins; Aveda; Bumble and bumble; and Dr.Jart+. Jane serves on the Executive Leadership Team, is an Executive Officer of the company, and leads the enterprise-wide strategy for key growth-driving categories skin care and hair care.
As one of the most accomplished, visionary executives in the prestige beauty industry, Jane is regarded for her proven track record of leading and building global brands. Throughout her career, Jane has made a significant impact leveraging her brand-building expertise, spearheading the elevation of marketing and talent, and leading her portfolio of brands to achieve outstanding broad-based growth across categories, regions, and channels. A passionate advocate of leadership development and inclusion and diversity throughout her career, Jane co-founded ELC’s Women’s Leadership Network in 2017 to inspire and engage women across the organization, helping them become exceptional leaders and mentors.
Jane has been widely recognized by many best-in-class organizations. She serves as a Director on the Board of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Foundation and is an honorary member of FIT's Executive Committee of the Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management Graduate Program. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In 2021, Jane was named among Fairchild Media Group’s “50 Most Powerful Women” and over the course of her impressive career she has been a recipient of numerous honors, including the FIT Vanguard Award in 2018, the WWD Beauty Inc. Beauty Newsmaker Award in 2016, as well as the Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) Achiever Award in 2008.
Q&A
What is your definition of beauty?
Beauty is happiness.
What drew you to work for The Estée Lauder Companies?
I was drawn to work for the Company because it was founded by a woman, Mrs. Estée Lauder. I felt this would be an extraordinary place for me, for a woman, to build my career. And it proved to be true. I love what I do, and I feel extraordinarily fulfilled by my work. I’m growing and learning every day. It’s an honor to work on such extraordinary prestige brands with the most amazing, creative and talented people in the industry.
Why is the Company a good training ground for tomorrow’s business leaders?
We are a company that recognizes people’s talents. As a learning organization, you have the ability to try new things all the time. We have one of the most extraordinary and diverse portfolios of prestige brands, and our employees have the ability to move between brands or within functions, or to move within regions to get the best business education you possibly can while building your career. It’s also a compelling culture — an incredible combination of a warm family company with the discipline and performance metrics of one of the most successful companies in this industry. All told, I think that makes us a fantastic training ground.
What was the best professional advice you ever received?
Leonard Lauder told me to always hire people who are smarter than you are.
What does a typical day look like for you?
You never know what time it is, and you’re never bored. Stimulating meetings. The breadth of topics and issues that are covered and discussed throughout a day is enormous. We work hard morning until night, but I will tell you it’s always exciting, always creative, always fun, always inspiring.
From your experience, where do good ideas come from?
From my experience, good ideas come from anywhere. We have a philosophy in this company about leadership from every chair, from the most junior to the most senior people, from every department. Great ideas come from everywhere. The key is to always be open to listening and learning from new people.
Peter Jueptner
Group President, International
Peter Jueptner is Group President, International. As Group President, International, Peter oversees The Estée Lauder Companies’ international network of Region Presidents and Affiliate General Managers spanning more than 35 affiliates doing business in more than 150+ countries and territories across ELC’s international footprint. In this capacity, Peter leads the strategic growth of ELC’s international organization, overseeing innovation pipelines and strategic third-party relationships with key global retailers and commercial partners to drive the company’s business across established and emerging markets. He also collaborates closely with Group and Brand Presidents and Function leaders to integrate global marketing strategies in international markets.
Prior to this, Peter Jueptner was the President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), a role he held since 2016. In this position, Peter led the regional strategy, commercial operations and business growth for 17 affiliates, spanning more than 25 countries across developing and emerging markets and covering nearly half of the world’s population. Peter spearheaded growth opportunities and led critical share gain throughout EMEA’s diverse and complex landscape to further establish EMEA as a multi-faceted, effective, and profitable go-to-market region powered by multiple engines of growth across channels, geographies, and brands. Through this effort, Peter evolved the region’s Online team to integrate all Digital capabilities and strengthened EMEA’s emerging market portfolio, currently ELC’s fastest-growing set of emerging markets outside of China.
Peter is well known for designing and implementing breakthrough winning business models that promote a culture of agility and transformation. Prior to being the President of EMEA, Peter worked alongside President and Chief Executive Officer, Fabrizio Freda, in the development and execution of the company’s strategy as Executive Vice President, Strategy and New Business Development. During this time, the company delivered record results including consistent top-line growth ahead of the industry. Additionally, Peter played a key role in strengthening and expanding the company’s diverse portfolio, overseeing six acquisitions.
As a leader, Peter is recognized for his people-first approach and strong commitment to nurturing a culture of diversity, inclusivity, and equity within his teams and across the enterprise. In his career, Peter has been committed to driving transparency and innovation that challenge the status quo.
Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies in 2009, Peter served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at Philip Morris International, where he was a key change agent in developing new business strategies to drive organizational effectiveness. Before Philip Morris, he held executive roles at North American grocery retailer A&P, and Campbell Soup Company. He started his career with the Boston Consulting Group.
Peter was born in Germany and attended the University in Karlsruhe receiving an undergraduate degree in Information Technology and Industrial Engineering. Peter received his MBA, in Marketing and Finance, in the United States from Vanderbilt University. He has three children and is based in New York City.
Jane Lauder
Executive Vice President, Enterprise Marketing & Chief Data Officer
As Chief Data Officer and Executive Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, board member, shareholder and family member, Jane Lauder holds a unique role in the 75-year plus prestige beauty company founded by her grandmother, Estée Lauder.
In her role as Chief Data Officer, Jane has accelerated ELC’s enterprise-wide innovation strategy, including deployment of AI and ground-breaking technology tools to advance the way the company gathers and applies consumer insights, trends and high-touch experiences. She leads ELC’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force and has been instrumental in defining and deploying the company’s global AI strategies in support of enterprise operations and consumer outreach. Jane leverages her deep understanding of data and consumer marketing using a “math and magic” approach to drive ELC’s marketing, media, digital and data.
Prior to her 2020 appointment to the dual ELC enterprise roles, Jane had extensive brand experience with the company, serving as Global Brand President for Clinique, where she tripled the beauty giant’s online business and launched the brand’s breakthrough digital skin diagnostic tool, Clinique Clinical Reality, which uses 50 years of proprietary clinical data and dermatologist expertise. As Brand President for the Origins, Ojon, and Darphin brands, Jane helped reposition the Origins brand to focus on nature powered by science and launched two of the brand’s bestselling products, Plantscription and Ginzing.
A passionate advocate of talent, Jane leads ELC’s gender equity strategy and serves as the executive chair of the company’s global women in leadership efforts. Her commitment to support women in STEM extends beyond ELC with an endowed Data Science professorship at Stanford University, her alma mater, focused on educating next gen leaders’ development of analytical and quantitative insights for tackling data driven problems in science, industry, and society.
Jane joined the ELC Board of Directors in 2009. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the High Line in New York City, and the Board of Directors of Silicon Valley-based Eventbrite. Jane is a member of the Council of the School of Humanities and Sciences, a strategic advisory group to the Dean of Humanities and Science at Stanford University, which includes strategic input into the University’s AI policies and processes.
Jane earned a B.A. in History from Stanford University and currently resides in New York City.
Mark Loomis
Group President, North America
Mark Loomis is Group President, North America, at The Estée Lauder Companies. Since 2022, Mark has led the company’s home market, driving a digital-first strategy to maximize sales, profitability, and market share growth in the U.S. and Canada, unlocking emerging and granular opportunities across brands, consumers, and channels.
Mark has had a career of more than 25 years with ELC, much of it spent in Asia. A visionary and strategic leader, Mark is widely recognized for building high-performance organizations and identifying and developing talent at all levels of the business.
Most recently, Mark served as President, APAC, beginning in 2018, where he led and developed regional strategies that supported business acceleration and commercial operations to drive growth across all 13 Asia/Pacific affiliates. Prior, Mark was promoted to Senior Vice President, Asia-Pacific in 2011 and oversaw the Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia affiliates as well as Retail Channel, Online, Innovation/Product Development/ R&D, and Trademark Protection & Market Security functions. Mark first relocated to the Asia/Pacific region in 2005, to serve as President, Estée Lauder Companies Japan K.K.
Mark joined the company in 1996 as Vice President Marketing, Travel Retail Worldwide, for the Estée Lauder brand and was responsible for the development and implementation of global marketing strategies for the brand. In 1999, he was appointed Vice President, Estée Lauder, for Canada. In May 2001, he was named Senior Vice President/General Manager, Estée Lauder International, leading the development of the brand in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
Mark is a native New Yorker and currently resides in New York City with his wife and 3 daughters.
Daniel Mahler
Executive Vice President, Strategy and Transformation
Daniel Mahler leads Corporate Strategy & Business Transformation at The Estée Lauder Companies. In his role as Executive Vice President, Strategy & Transformation, he works closely with the President and CEO, Fabrizio Freda, and Executive Vice President and CFO, Tracey T. Travis, and is responsible for developing and overseeing all major strategy and change initiatives aligned with the long-term vision of one of the world’s leading prestige beauty companies.
Before working at The Estée Lauder Companies, Daniel was the Head of the Americas Region of the Global Management Consulting firm Kearney. His 20-year career at the firm began in Kearney’s New York office and included working from Berlin and Zurich. Daniel led Kearney Switzerland before he was appointed to lead the Americas Region, where he was accountable for 40% of the Firm’s P&L. He was a member of A.T. Kearney’s Board of Directors from 2010 to 2014 and its Executive Committee from 2013 to 2018. In addition, as one the firm’s senior partners, he served as the lead advisor to the C-Suite of several of the world’s most significant Consumer and Retail companies.
Daniel has been a guest lecturer at the ETH in Zurich since 2005 and was named to Consulting Magazine’s Top 25 Consultants list in 2008. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Market Research Firm NPD, the Board of Directors of the German American Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Opera Foundation, New York.
Daniel studied in Hannover, Germany, and holds a MA in Media Management and a PhD in Communications. He lives with his wife and two sons in Manhattan and Zurich.
Michael O'Hare
Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources
Michael O'Hare is Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources, a position he assumed in September 2013. He oversees a global network of Human Resources professionals and works closely with all business operations. Mr. O'Hare leads employee recruitment, retention, compensation, and development. He has more than 20 years of experience directing and guiding teams around the world, including serving as Global Chief Human Resources Officer for Heineken N.V., and as Chief Personnel Officer/Vice President for Asia Pacific at PepsiCo Inc. Born in Northern Ireland, he has lived and worked in Europe, the United States and Asia.
Q&A
How would you describe your talent philosophy?
My talent philosophy is centered on themes of transparency and fluidity. As we recruit talent, it’s critical to make it clear what the work is, and what our culture is all about. Once in the job, employees need to understand what is expected from them in their role, and which competency skills they need to develop to get to the next level — both from a technical and a leadership perspective. Finally, it is paramount to have a mechanism for movement of talent across brands and geographies, to facilitate the building of experiences. At The Estée Lauder Companies we are creating talent road maps that are not your traditional pyramids. There are many side roads vs. straight roads — which is more like tech or start-up companies.
What are the unexpected benefits of working here?
This company is very collaborative and inclusive, with a high level of in-house creativity. We have the left brain and the right brain; the linear and the nonlinear. We’re a collection of people with different backgrounds and different experiences. And, as some brands are growing by 20 percent to 30 percent a year, we are not in a steady state, like you’ll find with traditional consumer brands.
Another unexpected benefit is the high level of focus on ongoing learning and education at the Company, which stems from time-honored commitments from Leonard A. Lauder and William P. Lauder. The Lauder family values permeate the organization and, as a result, there is a huge amount of heart within the Company. This is evident in our philanthropic efforts and beyond. People care about each other.
Why is the Company a good training ground for tomorrow’s business leaders?
Anyone coming into this organization will be exposed to a multitude of global issues, from geographic expansion to channel differentiation, from new acquisition of brands to exponential growth of current brands. Based on the way the organization is growing and developing, business leaders are going to find themselves in situations they’ve never been in before. Even very seasoned leaders will see things in ways they haven’t seen before. Fundamental changes in our business are demanding that our people relearn and develop new competencies in areas like digital marketing and online sales and in the operation of freestanding retail stores. The on-the-job training component for us is huge.
What is the most meaningful or inspiring aspect of your role?
By virtue of leading people and through the creation of certain policies and processes, I can make the work around here a little better, more interesting, more meaningful. It’s not just about getting people paid or providing health benefits. In my role you have the ability to help people find purpose in their work. It’s exciting to implement impactful training programs that help develop great leaders, to create incentive plans that recognize and reward great performance. In many ways, I control quite a few of these levers.
What is your definition of beauty?
It’s not about the aesthetic; it’s about how it makes you feel. Through our products we sell a bit of a dream, a little guilty pleasure, a bit of “me” time.
Gibu Thomas
Executive Vice President, Online
Gibu Thomas is the Executive Vice President of Online at The Estée Lauder Companies, a position he assumed in 2020. In this role, Gibu leads the holistic strategic direction and execution globally of the company's Online business across direct-to-consumer and indirect channels, including brand.com, retailer.com, pure players, third-party platforms, and social commerce. He oversees regional Online leaders across 6 global regions and has built a world-class leadership team with deep expertise in e-commerce, growth marketing, technology, consumer experience, mobile, and omnichannel, which has been instrumental in accelerating and transforming this strategic and fast-growing channel for the company, in close collaboration with ELC's robust portfolio of prestige and luxury brands.
Gibu has an outstanding track record as a highly entrepreneurial and innovative e-commerce leader with a keen business sense and technical acumen who has successfully led digital transformations at multiple Fortune 50 companies. He joined ELC from PepsiCo Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of E-Commerce for five years, and was responsible for the holistic strategic direction and execution of the company's global e-commerce business, growing it to be the company's most significant growth engine. Gibu also served multiple roles at Walmart Inc., including Senior Vice President, Strategy, and Senior Vice President, Mobile and Digital. He was a key architect of Walmart’s significant omnichannel transformation, led all mobile and digital media initiatives across stores and online, and helped create WalmartLabs—a cornerstone of Walmart's talent transformation—during his tenure. Earlier in his career, Gibu was a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, helping to build multiple innovative startups, including SugarSync, a pioneer in mobile synchronization and cloud services, where he served as Chief Executive Officer.
As a committed champion of leadership development through mentorship, diversity, inclusivity, and equity, Gibu has advocated for greater ID&E practices within ELC Online and throughout the organization. He has established a dedicated Online ID&E Task Force, is a member of ELC's Diversity Council, a sponsor of 'From Every Chair,' a supporter of Open Doors and Women in Tech, and is the Executive Sponsor for the GenNext Employee Resource Group.
Gibu serves on the Board of Directors of FEMSA, Inc., and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Kerala in India. He currently resides in New York City with his wife and two children.
Tracey T. Travis
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
As Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tracey T. Travis is responsible for Global Finance, Accounting, Investor Relations, Information Technology, and Strategy and New Business Development. She co-leads the Global Value Council and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and the Investment Development Committee. Before joining the company in 2012, she was Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Ralph Lauren Corporation and also held financial and information technology leadership roles at Limited Brands, American National Can and PepsiCo/Pepsi Bottling Group. She began her career at General Motors as an engineer. Ms. Travis currently serves as a director on the Board of Accenture PLC and the Board of Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly, Facebook). She has been recognized by Treasury and Risk magazine as one of the “Top 25 Women in Finance” and one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance,” has been honored with a Best CFO award by Institutional Investor magazine and was named one of the “Top 100 African-Americans in Corporate America,” as well as “The Most Powerful Women in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise magazine. In 2019, she was honored with an Achiever Award by Cosmetic Executive Women.
Q&A
What excites you about coming to work at The Estée Lauder Companies every day?
The people I work with. The Company has a unique culture. The people that I have the pleasure of working with are so knowledgeable about their areas of responsibility. They are so caring about the Company, and the business, and each other. We can disagree and debate, yet we recognize at the end of the day we’re all working toward the common goal of seeing this company be as exceptional as it is, and can be in the future. That brings a certain level of camaraderie that I haven’t seen in many other places.
What drew you to work for The Estée Lauder Companies?
I would say the culture, the talent, and the brand portfolio. I had been in apparel and retail for 12 years before I joined, and 10 years at Pepsi prior to that. I initially wasn’t that focused on the beauty industry, but when I saw the brand portfolio, understood how global the Company was, and met Leonard, William and Fabrizio, I became very interested in the Company. Once I learned that I would have the ability to partner with an amazing leadership team to continue to accelerate growth at a very pivotal time for the Company, I knew that it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
Why is the Company a good training ground for tomorrow’s business leaders?
First of all, with prestige beauty, we are fortunate to be part of one of the best consumer product segments that exists. At the Company, we offer the opportunity to work within multiple brands or multiple regions. Between the geographic breadth and the channel diversification of the Company, there are so many different, interesting career paths you can have here.
What was the best professional advice you ever received?
Early in my career I worked for an individual who was a great mentor to young talent. He was a very demanding person to work for but great at grooming talent. He used to say: “Don’t be afraid to fail.” This is classic and cliché, but it resonated for me. Basically he was saying you are very talented and highly competent. You can achieve anything you dedicate yourself to do. But while most things will work out well, some things will not. If you don’t take risks and try, you’ll never be able to reach your potential. I’ve been fortunate in my career to have a number of wise people share with me the benefit of their experiences, but this was the one that really stood out for me.
What do you see as the most exciting opportunities in the global luxury sector today?
Emerging markets are a big opportunity for us to reach a whole different consumer group. It's exciting to watch emerging market consumers transition into more of a middle class — as it’s defined for that particular market — and being able to aspire to luxury brands. More broadly, the digital landscape is a dynamic frontier for the global luxury sector. The idea that you can access luxury wherever and whenever you want, whether or not there’s a luxury store in your neighborhood, is quite exciting for luxury. It tests the strength of your brand.
Meridith Webster
Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs
Meridith Webster is Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs at The Estée Lauder Companies, a position she assumed in 2021. In this role, Ms. Webster leads the company’s communications and public affairs strategies, advancing and protecting its business interests and corporate reputation globally, while strengthening relationships to drive value for key stakeholders. She also serves as a strategic advisor to the company’s senior leadership on a variety of critical topics.
A highly talented and respected leader, Ms. Webster has an exceptional background across business, government, media, and philanthropy. She joins ELC from the Biden White House, where she served as Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Domestic Policy Council. In the Obama Administration, she served as Senior Advisor to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Deputy Chief of Staff to Susan Rice, then the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Prior to serving in the Biden Administration, Ms. Webster served as Vox Media’s first-ever Chief Communications Officer, overseeing strategic communications and media relations across a growing and successful modern media company. While at Vox Media, Ms. Webster led the communications for the company’s merger with New York Media, among other notable accomplishments. Ms. Webster also served in several roles at Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, including as the Global Head of Public Affairs, where she oversaw climate and public health communications and public affairs campaigns as well as strategic communications initiatives for the company. Ms. Webster began her career working at the Clinton White House and the U.S. State Department before earning her law degree at Georgetown University Law Center.