The PMA is thrilled to welcome Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. in a special conversation with Mark Bessire, who is the Judy and Leonard Lauder Director of the PMA. In this digital conversation, Mr. Lauder will share details from his book, recounting his extraordinary life growing up in New York city during the Great Depression, to helping his mother and the company’s founder, Mrs. Estée Lauder, grow her business into the global powerhouse it is today, and how he developed his passions for art and his approach to transformative philanthropy.
Tickets are $40 and include the digital program and a copy of the book ($32.50 value). Books will be mailed prior to the event to those registered by March 22. After March 22, books may arrive post-event.
About The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty
Readers will enjoy Mr. Lauder’s fascinating stories from the early days of ELC, including the origins of the Estée Lauder Youth Dew bath oil, Queen Elizabeth collecting her Estée Lauder purse-sized makeup compacts and the interesting anecdotes on how the company entered the post-WWII European market. Additionally, Mr. Lauder provides never-before-heard takes on some of the most influential moments in the company’s journey, including a first-hand glimpse into ELC’s decision to go public; the launch of the world’s first prestige natural skincare brand, Origins; the Company’s expansion across global specialty and department stores; and the strategy behind some of ELC’s largest brand acquisitions.
For more information on the book, please visit its website and follow the book’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages for updates and more. All author proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to charity.
About Leonard A. Lauder
Leonard A. Lauder is chairman emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. and the senior member of its board of directors. Founded in 1946, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of prestige skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, with annual sales more than $14 billion. Mr. Lauder is also the co-founder and co-chairman of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and the honorary chairman of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
An arts enthusiast, he served as chairman emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he was a trustee until 2011. He is one of the museum’s most significant benefactors, giving a milestone gift of $131 million in 2008 to the museum’s endowment. In concert with the donation of his Cubist collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he helped establish the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art.
Among Mr. Lauder’s honors are the Légion d’Honneur, the “Lone Sailor” Award given by the United States Navy Supply Corps Foundation, the Women’s Leadership Award given by the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund Women’s Leadership Council and the Palazzo Strozzi Renaissance Man of the Year Award. In 1983–1987 he served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations to President Reagan. Most recently, in 2020 he was inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame by the World Retail Congress.
Mr. Lauder was married to Evelyn H. Lauder (founder, Breast Cancer Research Foundation) from 1959 until she passed away in 2011. They had two sons together, William (executive chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies) and Gary (managing director, Lauder Partners LLC), and five grandchildren.
Mr. Lauder is currently married to Judy Glickman Lauder, a philanthropist and internationally recognized photographer. The Lauders received the Gordon Parks Foundation Patron of the Arts Award in 2016.