Estee Lauder Advances Restructure With AI, Regional Shifts
The Estee Lauder Cos. is advancing its restructuring plan, which has already included leadership changes, channel adjustments and business optimizations.
A key focus has been digital transformation. The company said deep investments in artificial intelligence are driving results, with AI-powered executions delivering a 31% ROI increase from North America media campaigns. The technology is supporting faster decision-making, stronger real-time market responsiveness, enhanced personalization and a more agile go-to-market strategy, according to president and CEO Stephane de la Faverie.
Learn more: Estee Lauder overhauls digital marketing workflows with generative AI
“For our third action plan priority, to boost consumer-facing investment, we are deploying a new media model that puts greater focus on demand generation through broader media tactics,” de la Faverie told investors. “We made a significant shift in the mix of media budget to enhance consumer acquisition and improve ROI accountability.”
Regional Realignment
Beginning in Q1 of fiscal 2026, Estee Lauder will move from seven to four geographic regions to better align with its leadership team and accelerate responsiveness to consumer trends:
- The Americas, including North and Latin America.
- Europe, U.K., Ireland & Emerging Markets, including Southeast Asia.
- Asia/Pacific, including global travel retail (previously reported under EMEA).
- Mainland China, now reported as its own region.
“This is the biggest organizational transformation in our history,” de la Faverie said, adding that a new head of research and development has been hired and will be announced soon. “We have the complete new organization in place from a leadership standpoint.”
Leadership Team Updates
The executive team reporting to de la Faverie now includes:
- Brian Franz, Chief Technology, Data & Analytics Officer
- Aude Gandon, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer
- Michael Bowes, EVP, Chief People Officer
- Roberto Canevari, EVP, Chief Value Chain Officer
- Amber English, President, Digital & Online, The Americas
- Joy Fan, President & CEO, China
- Nadine Graf, President, EMEA, U.K. & I, and Emerging Markets
- Matthew Growdon, President, APAC and Travel Retail Worldwide
- Carl Haney, EVP, Global Innovation & R&D
- Jane Hertzmark Hudis, EVP, Chief Brand Officer
- Rashida La Lande, EVP, General Counsel
- Akhil Shrivastava, EVP, Chief Financial Officer
- Tara Simon, President, The Americas
- Meridith Webster, EVP, Global Communications & Public Affairs
Channel Strategy
In North America, Estee Lauder is shifting more toward specialty multi- and pure-play retailers while expanding on Amazon, where it already has 11 brands live.
“Amazon not only is adding new consumers for us, but it's also acting as a megaphone to our total business … it’s also the majority of beauty search that is happening in the market,” de la Faverie added. “We have been seeing a lot of positive momentum in retailers like Ulta Beauty, where we are very strong.”
CFO Akhil Shrivastava added that Estee Lauder regained North America market share in the quarter, crediting the channel strategy. “We now have a much more balanced view of what e-channels bring … there’s a different consumer there, and we are serving them accordingly.”
Savings Outlook
The restructuring is expected to generate $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion in savings.
This article was originally published on P2PI-sibling brand Consumer Goods Technology.
