Estée Lauder's family stepped out of the C-suite in 2024 to save a slumping empire

On October 30, 2024, The Estée Lauder Companies announced that Stéphane de La Faverie would become president and CEO on January 1, 2025, replacing Fabrizio Freda. The same announcement carried the bigger news: William P. Lauder would step down as executive chairman, and Jane Lauder — seen as a contender for the top job — would leave her executive role.

It was the first time since Estée Lauder founded the company in 1946 that no member of the Lauder family would hold day-to-day operating power. The family kept its grip where it mattered: William stays chair of the board, Jane keeps a board seat and an advisory role, and the family still owns roughly a third of the company its grandmother started.

The retreat was forced by performance. Prestige beauty demand was cooling globally, China — historically ELC's growth engine — was in a prolonged slump, and the stock had lost most of its value from its 2021 peak. The board concluded the turnaround needed an operator with full authority, not another family executive.

De La Faverie, a company insider who had run the Estée Lauder and Jo Malone brands, moved fast: in February 2025 he launched 'Beauty Reimagined,' the biggest operating overhaul in the company's history, warning of up to 7,000 job cuts by fiscal 2026 and admitting the group had 'lost our agility.'

De La Faverie launched Beauty Reimagined, a turnaround plan targeting restored sales growth and up to $1B in savings, with the family keeping board control.

A China-led sales collapse and a crashed share price made incremental family-led fixes untenable.

Both obvious family candidates (William's continued role, Jane Lauder) were removed at once, ending a public succession drama cleanly.

De La Faverie was an insider — he knew the brands — but owed his promotion to merit, removing the nepotism discount.

Keeping the board chair let the family protect long-term control without blocking the operator's authority.

Sometimes the succession decision is deciding the family should stop operating: keep ownership and board oversight, hand the steering wheel to a proven operator.

De La Faverie's Beauty Reimagined plan restructured the company around consumers, innovation, and leaner operations, with up to 7,000 roles cut and roughly $1 billion in targeted savings. The stock initially fell 16% on the announcement as sales guidance disappointed, but the family board has held course behind its first fully non-family operating team since 1946.