Board of Directors

Director since 2003

Ms. Bravo is a retail and marketing consultant. She was Vice Chairman of Burberry Group Plc from July 2006 to July 2007. Prior to that, she was Burberry's Chief Executive from 1997 to July 2006. Prior to her appointment at Burberry, she was President of Saks Fifth Avenue from 1992, with responsibility for merchandising, marketing and product development. From 1974 to 1992, Ms. Bravo​ held a number of positions at R.H. Macy & Co., culminating as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. retailer I. Magnin from 1987 to 1992. Ms. Bravo is a member of the boards of directors of Tiffany & Co. and of Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Ms. Bravo is a member of the Compensation Committee and Stock Plan Subcommittee.

Director since 2011

Ms. Christianson is a Managing Director and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific and Chief Executive Officer of China at Morgan Stanley based in Beijing. In addition to her regional role, Ms. Christianson​ is responsible for all aspects of Morgan Stanley's operations in China and is a member of Morgan Stanley's Management Committee. Prior to rejoining Morgan Stanley in 2006, she was the Chairman of China for Citigroup Global Markets (Asia Ltd.) and previously served as Chairman of China and Country Manager for Credit Suisse First Boston. Ms. Christianson​ held an earlier position at Morgan Stanley beginning in 1998 as Executive Director and Beijing Representative. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.

Ms. Christianson is a member of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 2009

Mr. Freda has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since July 2009. From March 2008 through June 2009, he was President and Chief Operating Officer and oversaw the Clinique, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, and Bumble and bumble brands, and the Aramis and Designer Fragrances division. He also was responsible for the Company's International Division, as well as Global Operations, Research and Development, Packaging, Quality Assurance, Merchandise Design, Corporate Store Design, and Retail Store Operations. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Freda served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), where he was responsible for various operating, marketing and key strategic efforts for more than 20 years. From 2001 through 2007, Mr. Freda was President, Global Snacks, at P&G. Mr. Freda also spent more than a decade in the Health and Beauty Care division at P&G. From 1986 to 1988, he directed marketing and strategic planning for Gucci SpA. Mr. Freda is currently a member of the Board of Directors of BlackRock, Inc., a global asset management company.

Director since 2006

Mr. Fribourg has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Grain Company, an international agribusiness and investment company, since July 1997. He joined Continental Grain Company in 1976 and worked in various positions there with increasing responsibility in both the United States and Europe. Mr. Fribourg is on the board of directors of Apollo Global Management, LLC, Loews Corporation and Restaurant Brands International Inc. He also serves as a member of Rabobank's International North American Agribusiness Advisory Board, and as a Board member and Executive Committee member of Castleton Commodities International LLC. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 1985.

Mr. Fribourg is a member of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Stock Plan Subcommittee.

Director since 2005

Ms. Hobson has been the President of Ariel Investments LLC, a Chicago-based investment management firm, and advisor to the mutual funds offered by the Ariel Investment Trust since 2000, and she is also President and Director of its governing member, Ariel Capital Management Holdings Inc. In addition, she serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ariel Investment Trust, a registered investment company. Ms. Hobson is a member of the Board of Directors of Starbucks Corporation. Additionally, within the past five years, she served as a director of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. and Groupon Inc. She works with a variety of civic and professional institutions, including serving as Chairwoman of After School Matters, as a board member of the Chicago Public Education Fund and as Emeritus Trustee of the Sundance Institute.

Ms. Hobson is a member of the Audit Committee.

Director since 2001

Mr. Hockaday is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Hallmark Cards, Inc. He retired in December 2001. Prior to joining Hallmark in 1983, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc. Mr. Hockaday was a member of the Hallmark Board of Directors from 1978 until January 2002. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. Additionally, within the past five years, Mr. Hockaday served as a director of Crown Media Holdings, Inc. and Ford Motor Company.

Mr. Hockaday is Presiding Director and the Chair of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 2018

Ms. Hyman is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rent the Runway, Inc. 

Ms. Hyman is a member of the Audit Committee. 

Click here to read the press release announcing Ms. Hyman’s election. 

Director since 1958

Mr. Lauder is Chairman Emeritus of the Company. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1995 through June 2009 and served as the Company's Chief Executive Officer from 1982 through 1999 and President from 1972 until 1995. He formally joined the Company in 1958 after serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Since joining, he has held various positions, including executive officer positions other than those described above. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a Charter Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, a Trustee of The Aspen Institute, and the co-founder and Co-Chairman of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. In addition, Mr. Lauder is Honorary Chairman of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He also served as a member of the White House Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations under President Reagan.

Director since 2009

Ms. Lauder has served as Global Brand President, Clinique, since April 2014. Immediately prior to that, she was Global President, General Manager of the Origins, Ojon and Darphin brands. From July 2008 until July 2010, she was Senior Vice President/General Manager of the Origins brand. Ms. Lauder​ began her career with the Company in 1996 at Clinique and served in various positions throughout the Company until July 2006, when she became Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, for Clinique.

Director since 2016 and from 1968-1986 and 1988-2009

Ronald S. Lauder is the younger son of Estée and Joseph Lauder and, like his brother, Leonard, learned the family business at the dinner table. He formally joined the company in 1964, beginning his career in the Oevel, Belgium factory. His executive roles began when he became General Manager of Clinique Laboratories in 1985, and he has served as Chairman since 1994. Mr. Lauder was instrumental in the creation of Prescriptives and served as Chairman of Estee Lauder International from 1992 to 2002. He was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in 2016; previously, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Company from 1968-1986 and again from 1988 to July 2009.

Director since 1996

Mr. Lauder is Executive Chairman of the Company and, in such role, he is Chairman of the Board of Directors. He was Chief Executive Officer of the Company from March 2008 through June 2009 and President and Chief Executive Officer from July 2004 through February 2008. From January 2003 through June 2004, he was Chief Operating Officer. From July 2001 through 2002, Mr. Lauder was Group President, responsible for the worldwide business of the Clinique and Origins brands and the Company's retail store and online operations. From 1998 to 2001, he was President of Clinique Laboratories, LLC. Prior to 1998, he was President of Origins Natural Resources Inc., and he had been the senior officer of that division since its inception in 1990. Before that, he served in various positions since joining the Company in 1986. Within the past five years, Mr. Lauder served as a director of Jarden Corporation and GLG Partners, Inc. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Fresh Air Fund, an Emeritus Trustee on the Trinity School Board in New York City, and as a member of the boards of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, the boards of directors of the 92nd Street Y and the Partnership for New York City, and the Advisory Board of Zelnick Media. In addition, Mr. Lauder is Co-Chairman of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Mr. Lauder is a member of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 1999

Mr. Parsons has been a senior advisor to Providence Equity Partners LLC, a global private equity and investment firm, since 2009. From 1996 until 2012, he was a director of Citigroup Inc. and served as its Chairman from February 2009 to April 2012. From May 2003 until his retirement in December 2008, Mr. Parsons​ served as Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Inc. From May 2002 until December 2007, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Inc. From January 2001 until May 2002, Mr. Parsons​ was Co-Chief Operating Officer of AOL Time Warner. From 1995 until the merger with America Online Inc., he was President of Time Warner Inc. From 1990 through 1994, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dime Bancorp, Inc. Mr. Parsons is currently a member of the board of directors of Lazard Ltd. and The Madison Square Garden Company. Among his numerous community activities, he is Chairman of the Apollo Theater Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America.

Mr. Parsons is Chair of the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 2000

Lady de Rothschild is the Chair of E.L. Rothschild LLC, a private investment company with investments in media, information technology, agriculture, financial services and real estate worldwide, and she was the Chief Executive from 2002 to 2016. Holdings of E.L. Rothschild LLC include The Economist Group (UK). Lady de Rothschild has been a director of The Economist Newspaper Limited since October 2002. From 2004 to 2007, she was also Co-Chair of FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, established to develop the agricultural sector in India. From 1989 to 2002, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of FirstMark Holdings, Inc., which owned various telecommunications companies worldwide. She serves on the Board and Executive Committee of The Peterson Institute for International Economics. Lady de Rothschild is a trustee of the Eranda Foundation, a board member of the International Advisory Board of Columbia University School of Law and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (USA), Chatham House (UK), the International Advisory Council of Asia House (UK), the International Institute of Strategic Studies (UK), and the Foreign Policy Association (USA).

Lady de Rothschild is a member of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 2004

Mr. Sternlicht is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Capital Group, the private investment firm he formed in 1991 that is focused on global real estate, hotel management, oil and gas, energy infrastructure, and securities trading. He also serves as Chairman and CEO of Starwood Property Trust, Inc., a commercial mortgage REIT. Mr. Sternlicht is a member of the Board of Directors of A.S. Roma, Chairman of the Board of Baccarat S.A. and Co‑Chairman of the Board of Colony Starwood Homes. Additionally, within the past five years, Mr. Sternlicht served as a director of Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc., Riviera Holdings Corporation, and TRI Pointe Group, Inc. (formerly TRI Pointe Homes, Inc.). From 1995 through early 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. He currently serves as a member of the board of The Robin Hood Foundation, and he is on the board of the Dreamland Film & Performing Arts Center and the Executive Advisory Board of Americans for the Arts. Mr. Sternlicht is a trustee of Brown University and serves on the boards of numerous other civic organizations and charities.

Mr. Sternlicht is a member of the Nominating and Board Affairs Committee.

Director since 2018

Ms. Tejada is the Chief Executive Officer of PagerDuty, Inc.  

Ms. Tejada is a member of the Audit Committee. 

Click here to read the press release announcing Ms. Tejada’s election.