More changes are afoot at the Estée Lauder Cos.
Just over a week after Stéphane de La Faverie stepped into the chief executive officer role, Ronald S. Lauder, a son of founder Estée, is retiring from the Estée Lauder board and handing one of his seats to his son-in-law Eric Zinterhofer, who is married to his daughter Aerin Lauder. Ronald’s other daughter, Jane Lauder, will remain in his other designated board director chair.
Ronald Lauder, age 80, joined his family’s company in 1964 and has served in various capacities. He was a member of the board from 1968 to 1986, from 1988 to July 2009 and from 2016 through his most recent retirement. He’ll remain chairman of Clinique Laboratories.
“While I may be retiring from this position on the board, I will continue to be committed to supporting this incredible company, the next generation of the Lauder family in leadership, and our family legacy,” he said in a statement. “I am confident Eric’s experience and perspective will be an asset to the company’s long-term vision and plans to return to growth, while maintaining the values at the heart of our work.”
William P. Lauder, chair of the board, called him a “steadfast advocate for the Estée Lauder Cos., our people, and our brands.”
Of Zinterhofer’s appointment, he said: “As a member of the family, Eric will continue to champion the values at the heart of our company while bringing a fresh perspective at this pivotal moment. We are confident Eric’s significant governance experience, strategic insight and industry knowledge will be an asset to the company and advance our plans for long-term growth.”
Eric Zinterhofer
Zinterhofer is a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners. He serves on the boards of several portfolio companies of Searchlight including Care Advantage, Hemisphere, Liberty Latin America and TelevisaUnivision, and serves as chairman of the board of Charter Communications. Prior to cofounding Searchlight, he was a senior partner at Apollo Management.
In October, it was revealed that Jane Lauder would be stepping down from her role as chief data officer and executive vice president, enterprise marketing, but would remain an active member of the board.
The company has been struggling of late amid weak demand in China, Asia travel retail and its home market of the U.S.
The group reported net sales of $3.36 billion for its first quarter ended Sept. 30, a decrease of 4 percent from $3.52 billion in the prior year. Skin care, the majority of the business, saw sales fall 8 percent, with double-digit declines at La Mer and Estée Lauder.
For the second quarter, Lauder expects organic net sales to decrease 6 to 8 percent compared to the prior year, largely due to the ongoing challenges in mainland China and Asian travel retail.
