The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has hired Rashida La Lande to succeed its previous general counsel Deirdre Stanley, who recently stepped down after joining the company in 2019. Ms. La Lande comes from The Kraft Heinz Co., where she spent nearly seven years as legal chief.
As Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Rashida La Lande will be responsible for ELC’s global Legal organization, she will jointly report to William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, and Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer. She will join the group’s Executive Leadership Team, effective August 19, 2024.
She will act as a strategic advisor to the organization and to ELC’s Board of Directors on complex global legal issues and the company’s business, leading ELC’s legal strategy, practices, and policies globally, including corporate strategies, reporting, compliance, risk mitigation, governance and business transactions. She will also lead the company’s legal review of potential acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.
Ms. La Lande joins The Estee Lauder Companies from The Kraft Heinz Company, where she held roles of increasing responsibility since January 2018, culminating as the Executive Vice President and Global Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer in December 2023. During her tenure with Kraft Heinz, Ms. La Lande was responsible for leading the legal function, including corporate governance and securities, transactions, regulatory, intellectual property, litigation, and labor and employment, as well as the company’s Environmental Social and Global Government Affairs function.
Prior to joining The Kraft Heinz Company, Ms. La Lande was a partner at the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm, where she practiced as a partner from 2007 to 2018 and as an associate from 2000 to 2007. She began her legal career as an associate at Chadbourne & Parke LLP from 1998 to 2000.
Ms. La Lande holds a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in New York City.
Headquartered in New York City, The Estée Lauder Companies focuses on high end beauty brands including Aveda, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Clinique, DECIEM, Dr.Jart+, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, Estée Lauder, Jo Malone, Le Labo, M·A·C, Smashbox, The Ordinary, Tom Ford Beauty, Too Faced, among others.
ELC said this year it would cut about 3,000 jobs as part of a restructuring designed to bolster its bottom line as the company battled a drop in sales.
