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Freda To Lead Estée Lauder; Promises Makeover

Fabrizio Freda, who joined Estée Lauder a year ago as president, will take the CEO reins from William Lauder on July 1 as the company faces formidable challenges from both inside and outside, Ellen Bryon reports. Lauder, 48, will assume the role of executive chairman, and his father, Leonard Lauder, will become chairman emeritus.



Estée Lauder's 29 upscale beauty brands have long been encouraged to maintain a fierce sibling rivalry. Freda, a 23-year Procter & Gamble veteran, wants to eliminate the inefficiencies inherent to that competition. "If we do market research on how consumers are behaving in this economic environment, there is no reason to do this five times with five different brands," he says. He also intends to streamline back-office functions such as purchasing and IT. There also are signs that he is implementing some of the rigorous research and measurement metrics for which P&G is famous.



Freda also is trying to lead a cultural revolution within the beauty empire. One priority is to decrease the company's dependence on department stores in the U.S., which accounted for nearly one-third of sales in the fiscal year ended June 30, and he is accelerating expansion into emerging markets and across Asia.

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