Estée Lauder Companies Executive Director, Corporate Strategy

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies is a global leader in prestige beauty, founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder and built on an enduring belief in creativity, high-touch service, and entrepreneurial spirit. As an employer, the Group offers talent the scale of an international house with the energy of distinctive brands across skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care. Its culture values innovation, inclusion, learning, and responsible growth, inviting professionals to shape consumer experiences from laboratory to counter, digital platform to boardroom. Employees join a purpose-led organization where heritage, artistry, and scientific excellence meet to define the future of luxury beauty.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead major components of the enterprise strategy and long-term growth agenda in partnership with the Vice President, Corporate Strategy.
• Lead the annual corporate strategy process across Brands, Regions, and Functions, shaping strategic questions, priorities, and decisions requiring an enterprise-level perspective.
• Frame complex and ambiguous business questions, establish analytical approaches, and direct the development of fact-based strategic recommendations.
• Develop and oversee executive-level content and strategic narratives for senior leadership discussions and enterprise decision forums.
• Partner with senior Brand, Regional, and Functional leaders to evaluate growth opportunities, strategic alternatives, business risks, and critical trade-offs.
• Monitor and synthesize consumer, competitive, category, channel, technological, macroeconomic, and industry developments, translating emerging signals into strategic implications.
• Connect insights across markets, categories, channels, and business models to identify opportunities and risks to long-term growth.
• Lead complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives addressing critical enterprise growth opportunities and business challenges.
• Translate enterprise priorities into objectives, workplans, governance, milestones, and success measures.
• Mobilize Brand, Regional, and Functional stakeholders around strategic priorities and drive alignment where perspectives or objectives differ.
• Challenge assumptions, identify critical decisions and dependencies, and surface implications and trade-offs to senior stakeholders.
• Guide strategic initiatives from problem definition through recommendation and, where appropriate, into activation and execution.
• Monitor progress against enterprise priorities, identify risks or barriers to impact, and recommend course corrections.
• Support the evaluation and prioritization of strategic initiatives and investments based on their potential contribution to sustainable growth and long-term value creation.
• Provide strategic and financial analysis to inform enterprise investment choices, resource allocation, prioritization, and evaluation of long-term value creation.
• Lead and develop team members across multiple strategy workstreams, providing direction, coaching, feedback, and development opportunities.
• Set a high bar for strategic thinking, analytical rigor, executive communication, and quality of output across the team.
• Provide thought partnership and guidance to Directors and Senior Managers navigating complex or ambiguous strategic questions.
• Build trusted relationships across Brands, Regions, and Functions and create alignment around enterprise priorities.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, intellectually rigorous team environment that encourages constructive challenge and learning.
• Contribute to the continued evolution of the Corporate Strategy function, including its capabilities, tools, ways of working, and strategic influence across the organization.
• Develop recommendations on significant enterprise priorities and strategic trade-offs; determine how complex strategic questions should be framed and evaluated; influence senior leadership decisions and escalate issues requiring Vice President or Executive Leadership Team direction.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or relevant advanced degree preferred.
• 8–10+ years of progressive experience in corporate strategy, strategic planning, business transformation, corporate development, management consulting, or a related strategic role, including demonstrated experience leading complex, enterprise-level strategic initiatives.
• At least 3–5 years at a top-tier consulting firm; MBB experience preferred.
• Experience within beauty, consumer products, prestige or luxury, retail, or another consumer-facing industry preferred.
• Demonstrated experience developing enterprise-level strategies, leading complex cross-functional initiatives, and supporting senior executive decision-making within a large, matrixed, global organization.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Enterprise mindset with exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to frame ambiguous business questions, identify critical issues, and translate complexity into clear strategic choices.
• Strong business and financial acumen, including the ability to assess strategic alternatives, business trade-offs, and drivers of long-term value creation.
• Ability to connect consumer, market, competitive, financial, and organizational insights into differentiated strategic perspectives.
• Strong executive presence and judgment, with the ability to operate credibly with senior leaders.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and executive storytelling capabilities.
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority and build alignment across a highly matrixed global organization.
• Ability to lead complex, high-visibility initiatives with significant organizational impact.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, and talent development capabilities.
• High learning agility and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Skills

Experience

8–10+ years of progressive experience in a relevant strategic role, including leadership of complex enterprise-level strategic initiatives; at least 3–5 years at a top-tier consulting firm, with MBB preferred.

Education

Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or relevant advanced degree preferred.

Compensation

The base compensation for this position ranges from USD 154,000 to USD 264,750 per annum.

Benefits

Eligible employees may receive health insurance (medical, dental, and vision), wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education-related programs, paid holidays, and vacation time; many benefits are subsidized or fully paid. The role is eligible for a competitive bonus program, including potential overachievement based on performance and company results, and participation in a share incentive plan.

Culture

The Estée Lauder Companies fosters a collaborative, inclusive workplace where creativity, entrepreneurial thinking, and a passion for prestige beauty are deeply valued. As a global house of distinctive brands, it offers employees an environment that encourages innovation, professional growth, and a shared commitment to excellence and consumer inspiration.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.