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Leonard Lauder, the billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder Companies cosmetics fortune, plans to step down from the company’s board of directors in November of this year. Lauder will remain chairman emeritus of the company.
The 90-year-old’s son William Lauder currently serves as executive chairman of the board. His other son Gary Lauder, the managing director of Lauder Partners LLC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, plans to begin on the board in November when his father vacates his seat.
“As chairman emeritus of the company, I’m looking forward to continuing my work as advisor and ‘chief teaching officer,’ serving what I believe to be the best company in the world,” Leonard Lauder said in an internal memo seen by The Business of Beauty.
Leonard Lauder joined the cosmetic company in 1958 and has held a number of C-suite positions — president and chief executive, chairman of the board and finally, chairman emeritus for the company. The Lauder family overall owns a 35 percent stake of the company.
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Estée Lauder Is Falling Behind Rivals Like L’Oréal, Even on Its Home Turf
To reach new customers across Asia, Estée Lauder Cos. has spent the past two years beefing up its global supply chain. Executives have heralded these investments as positioning the company for accelerated growth in a crucial region. While analysts applaud the buildout — a manufacturing plant in Japan, an innovation centre in China and a distribution facility in Switzerland for its duty-free business — they bemoan that it’s years overdue.
Editor’s Note: This article was amended on Aug. 25, 2023, to reflect that Leonard Lauder will remain chairman emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies.
