Estée Lauder Companies’ succession strategy is shaping up.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Stéphane de La Faverie has been selected as Estée Lauder Companies new chief executive officer. Estée Lauder Companies declined to comment on the report, though earlier on Monday, it confirmed that Jane Lauder, the company’s chief digital officer and another name thought to be in close contention for the top role, was set to step down by the end of 2024.

Rumours around succession have been swirling since 2022, when Estée Lauder’s stock price began a continued slide and analysts began to question Freda’s leadership de La Faverie and Jane Lauder quickly emerged as top contenders.

de La Faverie has been with Estée Lauder Companies for over 13 years, serving in various leadership roles, mostly recently as executive group president, a position he held for two years. Before joining the company in 2011, he served as a senior vice president at L’Oréal.

In partnership with [Jane] Lauder, de La Faverie has been leading the Estée Lauder’s “profit growth and recovery plan” since 2023, designed to reboot the company’s flagging performance, with a focus on rebuilding core brand equity and improving its performance in Asia, a stubborn drag on its results.

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A To-Do List for Estée Lauder’s Next CEO

Whoever steps into Fabrizio Freda’s Italian loafers in June 2025 has a big job on their hands, as the American beauty conglomerate battles softened demand internationally and on its home turf. Kickstarting meaningful growth will mean a fresh China strategy, channel and category overhauls, and generating some much needed buzz.