The death of Leonard Lauder last month leaves a hole in the beauty industry. Yes, he built a multibillion beauty business. Estée Lauder is the biggest prestige cosmetics firm in the US, thanks to his leadership. But Lauder was much more than a brand builder, he was a career builder for so many in the beauty industry. 

The Cosmetic Executive Women does a great job recognizing leaders who transformed beauty brands and cosmetics companies. I attended CEW’s Achiever Awards for many years. Year after year, I was struck by the number of honorees who thanked Leonard Lauder for being so instrumental in launching their careers. As Lauder so famously noted:

“Never make an important decision without a woman at the table.”

Lauder surrounded himself with smart women throughout his career. That decision helped him build a company that was born in his mother’s kitchen. Today, ELC includes more than 20 brands that can be found in over 150 countries around the world.

Besides building brands, companies and careers, Lauder was determined to build a better world. The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation focuses on health, education and the environment and makes annual grants to organizations in the US and around the world that align with these pillars. Best known, perhaps, is The Breast Cancer Campaign. Since its inception the Campaign raised $144 million for lifesaving global research, education and medical services.

In his memoir, “The Company I Keep,” Lauder observed:

“The world is full of people smarter than me and I don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to have worth. I vowed that when I got out of the Navy, my job would be to seek out and hire those people. And rather than being threatened by them, I would welcome them and embrace them.” 

Throughout his life, Leonard Lauder embraced thousands of people and dozens of worthy-causes—all while building one of the best-known companies in the world. 

Tom Branna

Chief Content Officer

tbranna@rodmanmedia.com