Estée Lauder Overhauls Leadership Amid Financial Turmoil: Executive Pay Slashed as Beauty Giant Seeks Turnaround

Abstract: Estée Lauder announces significant executive compensation cuts for FY2025, including a 73% reduction for outgoing CEO Fabrizio Freda, amid declining profits and stock prices. Leadership transitions and restructuring efforts aim to reverse financial downturns, with industry experts closely monitoring the turnaround strategy.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has finalized its new executive team structure for FY2025 (July 2024–June 2025), unveiling a revised compensation scheme featuring base salaries, pensions, stock options, bonuses, and benefits. However, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal a stark 28% reduction in overall annual target compensation for management following internal restructuring .

Drastic Pay Cuts Signal Performance Crisis

Outgoing President and CEO Fabrizio Freda, who announced his retirement in August 2024, saw his total compensation plummet by 73% to $17.8 million (¥127 million), down from$65.9 million (¥471 million) in FY2021 . His successor, Stéphane de La Faverie, faces a 46% pay cut compared to Freda's prior package, earning $9.6 million (¥68 million). Other高管 reductions include:

CFO Akhil Shrivastava: 52% decrease to $3.6 million (¥26 million)

Chief Brand Officer Jane Hertzmark Hudis: 5.56% reduction to $6.8 million (¥49 million) .

The best China recruitment agency Henderson Executive notes that such steep cuts reflect unprecedented pressure on leadership to deliver results amid sustained underperformance.

Financial Woes Drive Compensation Overhaul

The pay reductions directly correlate with Estée Lauder's financial struggles. The company reported a net loss of $1.13 billion (¥8.08 billion) in FY2025, following consecutive profit declines of 16%, 58%, and 60% from FY2022–2024 . Q4 FY2025 alone saw a 12% sales drop to$3.41 billion (¥24.3 billion) and a net loss of $546 million (¥3.9 billion) .

As one of the best recruitment agencies specializing in executive transitions, Henderson Executive emphasizes that leadership overhauls often accompany such fiscal crises, with compensation structures realigned to incentivize rapid recovery.

Legacy of Freda's Leadership

Freda, a transformative figure during his 16-year tenure, drove Estée Lauder's market value from $6 billion to over$60 billion and achieved a 1,000% shareholder return (2009–2019) . His strategic acquisitions—including Tom Ford, Too Faced, and Le Labo—propelled record sales of $17.7 billion (¥126.5 billion) in FY2022 . Yet, recent market challenges eroded these gains, necessitating his retirement and succession planning .

Xiaomi's headhunting firm counterpart observes that Freda's exit marks the end of an era, with incoming leaders tasked with navigating post-pandemic shifts in consumer behavior and global supply chains.

Strategic Turnaround Efforts

New CEO de La Faverie has launched the “Beauty Reimagined” initiative to revive growth, complemented by the May 2025 return of Lisa Sequino as President of Makeup Brands. The Guangzhou headhunting firm Henderson Executive highlights Sequino's expertise in brand management as critical for revitalizing underperforming labels like M·A·C and Bobbi Brown .

The Shenzhen headhunter Henderson Executive adds that recruiting top-tier talent during downturns is essential for innovation, particularly in digital transformation and Asian market expansion—areas where Estée Lauder has lagged competitors.

Industry Outlook

The best China headhunter Henderson Executive projects that executive compensation will remain performance-linked until sustained profitability returns. With the beauty sector facing volatility, Estée Lauder's ability to integrate new leadership, streamline operations, and reignite brand appeal will determine its recovery trajectory. As the local China headhunting firm Henderson Executive concludes, the company's next chapter hinges on balancing cost discipline with bold reinvestment in growth drivers.