Deirdre Stanley appointed EVP and General Counsel of The Estée Lauder Companies
The Estée Lauder Companies announced this week that Deirdre Stanley has been appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective October 28, 2019. Ms. Stanley will jointly report to William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, and Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer. She will join the company’s Executive Leadership Team.
As Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ms. Stanley will be responsible for The Estée Lauder Companies’ (ELC) Legal organization globally. She will act as a strategic advisor to the organization and to ELC’s Board of Directors on complex global legal issues and the company’s business interests going forward. In this critical role, she will lead the company’s legal strategy, practices, and policies globally. Ms. Stanley will act as a key partner to ELC’s executive leaders and business units across the organization on a wide range of legal matters including corporate strategies, reporting, compliance, risk mitigation, governance and complex business transactions. She will also lead the company’s legal review of potential acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.
“Deirdre is a highly talented, proven General Counsel and seasoned executive whose global business acumen and legal expertise are matched only by her leadership capabilities and sound judgment,” said William P. Lauder. “Deirdre’s exemplary track record of leading large organizations and acting as a key strategic partner to multiple CEOs and Boards at a family- controlled, publicly traded company makes her uniquely suited to take on this role.”
Prior to joining ELC, Ms. Stanley served as General Counsel for The Thomson Reuters Corporation and its predecessor company for 17 years. After six years as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Thomson Corporation, Ms. Stanley was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Counsel following the acquisition of Reuters by Thomson in 2008. During her tenure, Ms. Stanley had roles of increasing responsibility, including serving as a member of the company’s Executive and Operating Committees, as Secretary to the company’s Board of Directors, and as a company-appointed director of Refinitiv, a financial markets data joint venture. As the company’s Chief Legal Officer, Ms. Stanley was responsible for worldwide legal affairs and operations with lawyers in more than 10 countries, including in North America, Europe, Asia and multiple emerging markets. Her responsibilities also included government and regulatory affairs. Ms. Stanley led a number of company-wide initiatives including establishing the company’s enterprise risk management program and acting as executive sponsor of various women’s leadership and other diversity initiatives.
“Deirdre’s exceptional career demonstrates her effectiveness as both a world-class General Counsel and strategic business leader capable of managing a global organization while staying focused on long-term growth and transformation,” said Fabrizio Freda. “Deirdre’s extensive expertise, sound judgment in both business as well as legal matters, and strong understanding of the unique environment in which ELC operates make her ideally suited for this role. Working closely with our Board of Directors, William and me, Deirdre will be a critical partner in driving ELC’s strategy for long-term sustainable growth.”
From 1999 to 2002, Ms. Stanley held roles of increasing responsibility at InterActiveCorp/USA Networks, Inc., now IAC. During this period, she honed her business and strategic skills initially as Deputy General Counsel and later in a dual role as divisional general counsel and head of business development for the company’s Electronic Commerce Solutions division.
After beginning her career at the esteemed law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore, Ms. Stanley moved to the client side to pursue her interests in business. From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Stanley was Associate General Counsel for the GTE Corporation, a predecessor company to Verizon. In that role, she was the lead lawyer for domestic mergers and acquisitions.
Ms. Stanley holds an A.B. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University, and a J.D. from Harvard University, where she served as a member of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. She is a director of Consolidated Edison, Inc. and member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Special Surgery and The Dalton School.
Ms. Stanley succeeds Sara E. Moss, who was recently promoted to the newly-created role of Vice Chairman.
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Additionally, it was announced that Helen Davis has joined the Company in the role of Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain – Manufacturing. She will report directly to Greg Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, who she will work closely with to design the Company’s new global manufacturing organization. This global manufacturing organization will drive further integration, speed and efficiency across the Company’s manufacturing network and enhance the Company’s ability to quickly adapt to the ever-changing needs of dynamic consumer and channel environments around the world.
In this newly created role, Davis will have global accountability for driving the Company’s manufacturing strategy and enhancing operational excellence across its manufacturing network. Over the next year, she will collaborate with Supply Chain leadership across the enterprise to organize and optimize the Company’s manufacturing footprint while accelerating its ability to continuously transform to meet demand in its fastest growing subcategories. She will also champion Employee Relations & Engagement, Environmental Health & Safety and Quality Assurance within the manufacturing network. Davis will partner with Regional Supply Chain leaders and plant leaders to enhance overall plant performance and drive LEAN processes and sustainability.
“Helen Davis’ wealth of manufacturing and end-to-end supply expertise, experience integrating customer and business planning with key accounts to establish forecasts with the trade and demonstrated ability to oversee large supply chain organizations during times of transformation make her uniquely suited for this role,” said Greg Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, The Estée Lauder Companies. “I am confident that she will successfully drive improvements, foster innovation and enhance integration and consistency across our complex, global manufacturing network.”
Davis joins The Estée Lauder Companies from Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a British multi-brand company that focuses on health, hygiene and home products. Most recently, Helen served as Senior Vice President, Supply, North America, where she oversaw the daily end-to-end supply operations for three mega plants, demand and supply planning, customer service and logistics across North America. Additionally, she was responsible for developing and executing a “Touchless Supply Vision” to increase speed and agility through robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. An advocate for fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce, Helen also sponsored a women’s leadership development program. Previously, Davis spent 20 years holding several leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company where she responsible for the daily operations as well as the strategic transformation of all areas of the supply chain in Germany, India, China and other countries.
