The announcement was made by executive chairman William P. Lauder and CEO Fabrizio Freda that Thia Breen and Lynne Greene would find themselves in the new roles.
Breen has been named as group president North America, having led the Company’s home market, and she will continue to develop the Company’s strong retailer partnerships within the region.
Breen will also oversee both the U.S. and Canadian affiliates, to further drive growth in these markets.
Deliver growth
Greene has been named to the new position of group president, continuing to oversee the Clinique, Origins and Ojon global brands, with the addition of the Aveda and Darphin brands.
The strategic regrouping of these brands under Greene’s leadership will further develop their innovation synergies while continuing to deliver growth in their respective priority channels. She will also join the Company’s Investment and Development Committee (IDC) to help guide global M&A strategy.
Both Breen and Greene will continue to report to Fabrizio Freda.
Estée Lauder hopes the changes will strengthen its brand focus to become even more locally relevant, and create further growth opportunities for the company’s talent worldwide.
“Great organizations are dynamic, evolving as markets change and as skills of the organization grow,” said Freda.
“In 2009, we strengthened our Company by creating roles that enabled our leaders to best leverage their expertise. The results have been far-reaching. Today, we work even more collaboratively and decisively, and this evolution will drive our future success.”
Honing focus
The company will also further realign its brands to leverage additional innovations and strategic synergies, increasing its ability to become even more locally relevant and ensuring sharp focus on the greatest opportunities globally.
The New York-based firm says there will also be a realignment of several global brand positions and increased responsibilities of other leaders in the Company.
“The redesign we are announcing today expands the roles of several of our most senior executives and positions our Company for sustained profitable growth,” explains Lauder.
“I am confident that given their new responsibilities, this team will continue to deliver superior results, further inspiring and motivating our dynamic culture.”