The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has announced that Sara E. Moss has been promoted to the newly created role of Vice Chairman, effective July 1, 2019. Moss is currently executive vice president and general counsel and will continue in her role until a successor is named at a later date. She will jointly report to William P. Lauder, executive chairman, and Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer.
 
In this strategic role for the company, Moss will have several key areas of focus. First, she will serve as a senior advisor to Executive Management, the Board of Directors and the Lauder Family on issues critical to the business. Second, she will act as a liaison between the Lauder Family and the Board of Directors, while also helping to advance a framework to enable the company’s long-term, sustainable success as a family-controlled, public company. Third, she Moss will work collaboratively with senior leaders across the organization to drive the company’s global programs focused on developing women as exceptional leaders, as well as women’s focused initiatives.
 
“Over the years, Sara has been an outstanding leader and critical partner to the Board and to me, consistently providing guidance based on sound judgment and a deep understanding of our business,” said William P. Lauder. “She will continue to play a critical role, working closely with Fabrizio and me, the Board and the Lauder Family, to ensure that our long-term business goals are met.”
 
Since joining the company in 2003, Moss has served as executive vice president and general counsel, responsible for the company’s worldwide Legal organization and acting as a trusted strategic advisor to the business and the Board of Directors.
 
“Sara’s innovative leadership, strong business acumen and strategic guidance have proven to be invaluable to our business growth. As our organization continues to grow and evolve, her expertise and judgment will be important to help position our company for long-term success,” said Fabrizio Freda. “In addition, Sara’s passion for developing women leaders will build on Mrs. Estée Lauder’s legacy as a company ‘founded by a woman, for women’ and will further strengthen our ability to attract and retain the most talented women in the industry.”
 
Before joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Moss had a distinguished career as a lawyer and leader. As part of a small vanguard of women with many “firsts,” she was one of the first women litigators at a Wall Street law firm, part of the first small group of women federal prosecutors in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and one of the first few women General Counsel in the Fortune 500. Sara has continuously demonstrated a passion for developing women leaders, having most recently established the Sara Moss Women’s Leadership Training Program at NYU Law School.
 
PHOTO: Sara E. Moss (Photocredit: copyright Hollenshead Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau)