New Leader at Estée Lauder

Prestige beauty giant Estée Lauder Cos. (New York) has stayed in-house for its new leader, naming Stéphane de La Faverie President and CEO. De La Faverie will succeed Fabrizio Freda, who announced his intention to retire earlier this year after more than 16 years with the company.

The new boss faces several challenges. The day after unveiling de La Faverie’s promotion, the company released its first fiscal quarter 2025 results, which showed a drop in net sales and a net loss for the period. Pointing to a “complex industry landscape,” especially in Asia, the company cut its dividend and withdrew its full-year fiscal 2025 outlook.

In its coverage of de La Faverie’s elevation, Vogue Business reported that he will have to shake up ELC’s strategy. “Estée Lauder needs a much clearer strategy in terms of appealing to consumers — including acquiring new ones across its various brands,” Neil Saunders, Managing Director and Retail Analyst at data research firm Globaldata, told the publication. “At present, the group seems to be very muddled in terms of its brands, their position in the market and the distribution strategy. Overall, the company feels cumbersome.”

De La Faverie joined Lauder in 2011 and currently serves as Executive Group President, overseeing such brands as Estée Lauder, Jo Malone London, The Ordinary and Le Labo. He will assume his new roles on Jan. 1.

In a related matter, several publications reported that just prior to the unveiling of de La Faverie’s promotion, Jane Lauder notified co-workers that she will depart Estée Lauder, which took her out of the race to lead the company her grandmother founded. Jane Lauder joined the company in 1996, and in 2020, was named its first EVP of Enterprise Marketing and Chief Data Officer.