The Business of Fashion
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Fabrizio Freda, the Estée Lauder Companies longtime chief executive officer, intends to retire at the end of the 2025 fiscal year, the company announced today.
According to a statement, no successor has yet been appointed, but the board of directors is “well advanced” in its CEO succession plan, and has considered internal and external candidates. Freda will lead the company until a successor is appointed, and remain on as an advisor throughout 2026.
Last month, the company announced the retirement of chief financial officer Tracey Travis, naming Akhil Shrivastava, the company’s senior vice president, corporate controller, as her successor.
Freda’s departure has been the subject of much speculation. The company, which owns brands such as Tom Ford, La Mer and Bobbi Brown has struggled to recover after the pandemic, with its stock price down some 70 percent since 2022.
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Overexposure to the Chinese market and overall softened demand for its premium brands has stymied growth, though in its third-quarter earnings in May, it reported its first net sales increase after six straight quarters of decline. It will report its full-year earnings on Monday.
“On behalf of the entire board of directors and the Lauder family, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Fabrizio for over sixteen years of devoted service to the company,” said William P. Lauder, executive chairman in a statement, saying the company is “laser-focused on navigating the current challenges”.
Lauder added, “On a personal note, Fabrizio has been an incredible partner to me as well as other members of the Lauder family,” saying he “understands the uniqueness of this family business.”
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