Pete Born first interviewed Leonard Lauder back in the early Eighties, when Pete was the beauty news reporter for WWD and Leonard was the president of Estée Lauder Inc. Back then, the company had five brands and operated offices in about 25 countries. Today, thanks in large part to the sweeping vision Leonard Lauder created and implemented, the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. is a global behemoth comprised of 28 brands with offices in 43 countries. “When I first interviewed him, Leonard Lauder was a young man in charge,” Born remembers. “Today, he is the father figure and seer of the industry.”
Over the years, Born has interviewed Lauder numerous times, and he’s noticed a marked difference in the executive’s demeanor. “Since then, Leonard has gotten mellower and far more philosophical,” Born laughs. But no less intense. “Leonard’s rule is every time he sits down with someone, he has to learn something, but the other side of that coin is you end up learning much more from him,” says Born. It is in recognition of all that Leonard Lauder has taught and brought to the beauty industry that WWD Beauty Biz chose to honor him with our first Visionary Award. Today Lauder serves as chairman emeritus of the company, and though he retired from active duty, so to speak, he is still very much involved in helping strategize its future. “I’m the CTO, the chief teaching officer,” he says. Lauder was characteristically open during his in-depth conversation with Born, as you’ll read in “The Visionary.”
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There is no doubt that Lauder would approve of the innovative thinking that we celebrate elsewhere in the issue with the 2010 WWD Beauty Biz awards. Our editor’s choice business-to-business awards recognize the products, strategies and companies that power the industry forward, be it bioelectricity-based skin care or a bare-chested, smooth-talking hunk who electrified a 72-year-old brand. Congratulations to all of the winners.