Prestige beauty company Estée Lauder announced today the launch of the Equity and Engagement Center of Excellence (COE). According to Estée Lauder, the establishment of the new capability underscores company’s core values and commitments to build greater equity and representation within every aspect of its business, from its employees to its consumers, and signals its investment in a focused and holistic approach to drive sustainable progress and advance the company’s diverse talent through deep engagement, career advancement, development programs, hiring practices and beyond.

The company also announced the appointment of Nicole Monson as Senior Vice President, Equity and Engagement, to lead the new Equity and Engagement COE.

Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Our collective vision is to be the most inclusive, equitable and diverse global prestige beauty company for our employees and consumers alike. This important new capability will enhance employee engagement and build greater equity across the business today, while also providing a strategic platform to expand and scale this work into the future. We know that authentic change takes time, dedication and a clear strategy, and we will continue to devote focused and meaningful resources toward accelerating this goal.”

Estée Lauder stated that the events of 2020 and the movement around racial equality have placed a necessary spotlight on every company’s responsibility to take action to advance equal representation, advocacy and inclusion across their organizations. The Equity and Engagement COE was designed to be a strategic and complementary enterprise-wide partner to the company’s other leaders and business units focused on ESG-related matters, including Human Resources, the Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (IDE) COE, Global Communications, Global Citizenship and Sustainability (GCCS), Global Public Affairs, and beyond.

In her new role, Monson will work across all areas of the business to develop the company’s long-term Equity and employee Engagement strategy and enterprise-wide capabilities. She will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of proactive Equity and Engagement initiatives to create a workforce that is more representative and responsive to people of all backgrounds, where all have an opportunity to succeed. In addition, she will lead the company’s Racial Equity Initiative, which includes finalizing and implementing a strategy to ensure ELC achieves its Racial Equity Commitments. Monson will report directly to Michael O’Hare, Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources.

Monson joined Estée Lauder in 2014, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Global Employment, Compliance and Data Privacy, where she oversaw the Employment Law, Ethics and Legal Privacy teams and worked to advance the Legal strategy for employment, ethics and privacy globally to protect the company’s interests and mitigate risks associated with new laws and regulations, growth of digital platforms, new global acquisitions and an increased regulatory environment. Prior to joining the company, she worked at Ingersoll Rand, serving as Director, Global Compliance & Senior Associate General Counsel.

William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, said:

“Since our company’s founding, our talented employees have been at the center of our business and the most important driver of our success. While we are proud of the progress we have made as a company thus far, we are committed to driving equity and engagement for the long-term. Nicole’s deep experience and extensive knowledge of Human Resources and the global legal environment, combined with her demonstrated ability to positively influence ELC’s culture, have been invaluable to the company. I look forward to her continued leadership at the helm of this new Center of Excellence.”