The Estée Lauder Companies Chairman Emeritus and former Chief Executive Officer Leonard A. Lauder has published his memoirs, entitled ‘The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty.’
It is available for pre-order with selected retailers. All of the author’s proceeds will be donated to charity.
The book, from HarperCollins Publishers, takes the reader on the journey of one of the beauty industry’s most legendary figures. It chronicles how Leonard Lauder helped transform his mother Estée’s ‘mom and pop’ beauty business — founded in 1946 in the Lauder family kitchen — into the global giant it is today.
During his remarkable 60-year tenure at the helm of The Estée Lauder Companies, Leonard Lauder (Estée Lauder’s eldest son) spearheaded the group’s expansion into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance, body care, and haircare products. The business now comprises over 25 internationally-renowned brands and is present in over 150 countries worldwide.
Leonard Lauder is an avid philanthropist who has played a driving role in the company’s extensive charity programme. He was also instrumental in launching the company’s remarkable Breast Cancer Campaign, The Estée Lauder Companies’ largest corporate philanthropic initiative, which is supported by hundreds of its employees around the world and numerous business partners each year.
Those enduring values have shone brightly during the COVID-19 global health crisis, as The Estée Lauder Companies continues to mobilise its brands and supply chain to support various US and international relief initiatives.
The Moodie Davitt Report regularly illustrates the company’s numerous COVID-19 initiatives in our popular Love in the time of Coronavirus column. These include the company’s US$2 million grant to Doctors Without Borders, and its support for the NYC Covid-19 Response & Impact Fund and the industry-wide BeautyUnited campaign.
In this personal account, Leonard Lauder, now known as The Estée Lauder Companies’ ‘Chief Teaching Officer’,” reflects on his childhood, growing up during the Great Depression, the vibrant decades of the post-World War II boom, and his work growing the company into the beauty powerhouse it is today.
The work also serves as a fond tribute to his mother Estée.
‘The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty’ shares stories about Leonard Lauder’s fierce rivalry with Charles Haskell Revson, the founder of fellow US beauty house Revlon. It also offers key insights on honing ambitions, leveraging success, learning from mistakes and growing an international company in an age of economic turbulence, uncertainty, and fierce competition.
