Hong Kong
The Estée Lauder Companies Announces Two Key Leadership Updates in North America
Press Release, Sep 27, 2018
Promotions of Chris Good and Claudia Benshimol reaffirm the company’s commitment to continued growth in its home market
NEW YORK, NY – September 27, 2018 – The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) announced today two leadership updates for its North America business.
- Chris Good has been promoted to Group President, North America, effective immediately. He will continue reporting to Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Good will remain a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team.
- Claudia Benshimol has been appointed Senior Vice President, General Manager, Estée Lauder and AERIN Beauty, North America, effective October 1, 2018. She will report to Mr. Good with a matrix reporting line to Stéphane de la Faverie, Global Brand President, Estée Lauder. Ms. Benshimol will remain a member of the company’s North America Leadership Team and the Estée Lauder brand Global Leadership Team.
These updates are a testament to the strength of the company’s talent and leadership and its continued commitment to unleash potential and further reignite growth throughout its North America business.
Chris Good promoted to Group President, North America
Since taking the helm as President, North America in 2017, Mr. Good has been integral in leading the continued evolution of the business. Under Mr. Good’s leadership, the company’s North America business is seeing revived growth and a number of brands have gained share in every major category. His expertise in channel strategy and local relevancy have been catalysts in strengthening North America retail partnerships and building granular growth strategies by leveraging deep data analytics by channel, account and door. As Group President, North America, Mr. Good will continue to focus on accelerating brand-building distribution, strengthening fast-growing categories and consumer segments, as well as increasing strategic investments to ignite growth opportunities.
Mr. Freda remarked, “As our home market, with a competitive and fast-evolving prestige beauty landscape, North America remains a central part of our Corporate Strategy and an important engine for the company’s long-term sustainable growth. Chris has played a vital role in driving the transformation and turnaround of our North America business and this promotion reflects his track record of achieving strong performance and our confidence that his visionary leadership and deep consumer, retail and operational expertise will help drive meaningful future growth in this important market.”
Mr. Good has been with the company for more than 15 years and is widely regarded for his ability to grow business in nascent and established markets, having extensive global leadership experience across Europe, Asia and North America. Mr. Good previously served as President, U.K. and Ireland, where under his leadership net sales grew double-digits on average in constant currency and online sales tripled during his five years there. While in the U.K., he pioneered the company’s successful evolution from a traditional department store model into a diversified omnichannel business, leading in high-growth channels such as e/m-commerce and specialty-multi. Prior to then, he was a valuable member of the leadership team for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and served as General Manager, Russia.
Claudia Benshimol appointed SVP, Estée Lauder and AERIN Beauty - North America
In her new role, Ms. Benshimol will develop and lead the execution of the North America go-to-market strategy for the company’s namesake brand -- overseeing Marketing, Account Management, Field Sales and Education in the market. She will build upon Estée Lauder’s current success in North America, by evolving the brand’s winning strategy across retail channels, including online and omni-channel, and she will lead its digital marketing and social media strategies to drive consumer engagement across all touch points. She will also have oversight for AERIN Beauty as it grows its luxury fragrance and beauty business in North America. Mr. Good shared, “Claudia is an exceptional leader with a forward-thinking approach to retail commerce and consumer strategies. She brings deep North America market and strategic expertise and she has played an important role in driving retail growth for the Estée Lauder brand in North America. Her demonstrated ability to identify and pivot to granular and high-growth opportunities, and her adeptness in driving high-performance teams makes her ideally suited to build on the brand’s remarkable success in North America and further accelerate its growth.”
Most recently, Ms. Benshimol held the position of Vice President, Account Management, Estée Lauder and AERIN, North America, where she set the overall vision for Account Leads and led its account strategies and performance to support growth and gain share. She established the Account Management function for Estée Lauder, helping to drive profitability improvement across every retail customer. Ms. Benshimol created robust strategies with a clear focus on top doors, major traffic moments by account, category growth drivers and increasing the digital advertising mix. Prior to that role, she was Vice President, Strategy & Analytics, North America and Key Account Manager for Belk and Dillard's. Before joining the company in 2012, Ms. Benshimol held the position of Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, where she covered a variety of functions across businesses including strategy, organization and cost efficiency, and sales and customer management.
# # #
About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company’s products are sold in over 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, M·A·C, Kiton, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin, Tom Ford, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Tory Burch, RODIN olio lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, By Kilian, BECCA and Too Faced.