The Son of the Company’s Founder Passes Seat to His Son-in-law Eric Zinterhofer
Additional leadership changes in the Estée Lauder company have been implemented. Following the recent appointment of new CEO Stéphane de La Faverie, Ronald S. Lauder, the son of company founder Estée Lauder, has announced his retirement from the company’s board. His seat will be succeeded by Eric Zinterhofer, Ronald’s son-in-law, who is married to his daughter, Aerin Lauder. Ronald’s second designated board director chair will continue to be occupied by his other daughter, Jane Lauder.
Ronald Lauder, aged 80, has had a longstanding history with the family’s company, having joined in 1964. His tenure on the company’s board spans from 1968 to 1986, resumed for a period from 1988 to July 2009 and from 2016 until his recent retirement. Despite his retirement from the board, he will continue serving as the chairman of Clinique Laboratories.
In a statement, Ronald expressed his ongoing commitment to the company following his retirement from the board. He stated, “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. 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, the chair of the board, commended Ronald for being a “steadfast advocate for the Estée Lauder Cos., our people, and our brands.” Speaking about the appointment of Zinterhofer, William regarded him as a valuable addition, stating, “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 is a founding partner at Searchlight Capital Partners. His portfolio includes serving on the boards of several Searchlight companies including Care Advantage, Hemisphere, Liberty Latin America and TelevisaUnivision. He serves as chairman of the board for Charter Communications. Zinterhofer previously held a senior partner position at Apollo Management.
Prior to these changes, it was announced in October that Jane Lauder would be stepping down from her role as chief data officer and executive vice president, enterprise marketing, but will still be an active member of the board.
Estée Lauder has been facing difficulties due to dwindling demand in markets like China, Asia travel retail and the U.S. The group’s net sales for the first quarter ending on Sept. 30 were at $3.36 billion, showing a decrease of 4 percent from $3.52 billion in the prior year. The majority of Estée Lauder’s business is skincare, which saw an 8 percent drop in sales, with La Mer and Estée Lauder experiencing double-digit declines.
Given the ongoing challenges in mainland China and Asian travel retail, the company expects the organic net sales for the second quarter to decrease by 6 to 8 percent compared to last year.