Executive Director, Corporate Strategy

ELC Beauty LLC•New York, NY

3d•$154,000 - $264,750

About The Position

The Executive Director, Corporate Strategy is a senior leader within The Estée Lauder Companies’ Corporate Strategy function, partnering closely with the Vice President, Corporate Strategy to shape and advance the Company’s enterprise strategy and long-term growth agenda. The role leads major components of the corporate strategy agenda, including the annual strategy process, enterprise strategic recommendations, and high-impact initiatives across Brands, Regions, and Functions. The Executive Director brings an enterprise-wide perspective to complex business questions, translating market, consumer, competitive, and financial insights into clear choices and actionable recommendations for senior leadership. Operating with a high degree of independence, the role acts as a senior strategic partner to leaders across the organization, drives alignment around critical priorities and trade-offs, and helps move strategic initiatives from insight to action. The position also leads and develops strategy talent and strengthens the impact and capabilities of the Corporate Strategy function. The role leads enterprise strategy and planning, complex cross-functional strategic initiatives, and team development. It provides strategic and financial analysis to inform enterprise investment choices, resource allocation, prioritization, and evaluation of long-term value creation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
8–10+ years of progressive experience in corporate strategy, strategic planning, business transformation, corporate development, management consulting, or a related strategic role.
Demonstrated experience leading complex, enterprise-level strategic initiatives.
Minimum of 3–5 years in a top-tier consulting firm; MBB preferred.
Demonstrated experience developing enterprise-level strategies, leading complex cross-functional initiatives, and supporting senior executive decision-making within a large, matrixed, global organization.
Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
Enterprise mindset with exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Ability to frame ambiguous business questions, identify critical issues, and translate complexity into clear strategic choices.
Strong business and financial acumen, including the ability to assess strategic alternatives, business trade-offs, and drivers of long-term value creation.
Ability to connect consumer, market, competitive, financial, and organizational insights into differentiated strategic perspectives.
Strong executive presence and judgment, with the ability to operate credibly with senior leaders.
Exceptional written, verbal, and executive storytelling capabilities.
Proven ability to influence without direct authority and build alignment across a highly matrixed global organization.
Ability to lead complex, high-visibility initiatives with significant organizational impact.
Strong people leadership, coaching, and talent development capabilities.
High learning agility and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Nice To Haves

MBA or relevant advanced degree.
Experience within beauty, consumer products, prestige or luxury, retail, or another consumer-facing industry.
Experience at a top-tier consulting firm; MBB experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead major components of the Company’s enterprise strategy and long-term growth agenda in partnership with the Vice President, Corporate Strategy.
Play a leadership role in the annual corporate strategy process across Brands, Regions, and Functions, shaping strategic questions, priorities, and areas requiring enterprise-level decisions.
Frame complex and ambiguous business questions, establish the analytical approach, and direct development of fact-based strategic recommendations.
Develop and oversee executive-level content and strategic narratives for senior leadership discussions and enterprise decision forums.
Partner with senior Brand, Regional, and Functional leaders to evaluate growth opportunities, strategic alternatives, business risks, and critical trade-offs.
Monitor and synthesize consumer, competitive, category, channel, technological, macroeconomic, and industry developments, translating emerging signals into implications for strategy.
Connect insights across markets, categories, channels, and business models to identify opportunities and risks to long-term growth.
Lead complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives addressing critical enterprise growth opportunities and business challenges.
Translate enterprise priorities into objectives, workplans, governance, milestones, and success measures.
Mobilize Brand, Regional, and Functional stakeholders around strategic priorities and drive alignment where perspectives or objectives differ.
Challenge assumptions, identify critical decisions and dependencies, and surface implications and trade-offs to senior stakeholders.
Guide strategic initiatives from problem definition through recommendation and, where appropriate, into activation and execution.
Monitor progress against enterprise priorities, identify risks or barriers to impact, and recommend course corrections.
Support evaluation and prioritization of strategic initiatives and investments based on their potential contribution to sustainable growth and long-term value creation.
Provide strategic and financial analysis that informs enterprise investment choices, resource allocation, prioritization, and evaluation of long-term value creation.
Lead and develop team members across multiple strategy workstreams, providing direction, coaching, feedback, and development opportunities.
Set a high bar for strategic thinking, analytical rigor, executive communication, and quality of output across the team.
Provide thought partnership and guidance to Directors and Senior Managers as they navigate complex or ambiguous strategic questions.
Build trusted relationships across Brands, Regions, and Functions and create alignment around enterprise priorities.
Foster an inclusive, collaborative, intellectually rigorous team environment that encourages constructive challenge and learning.
Contribute to the continued evolution of the Corporate Strategy function, including its capabilities, tools, ways of working, and strategic influence across the organization.

Benefits

Participation in a highly competitive bonus program, with the possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results.
Participation in the share incentive plan.
Health insurance coverage, including medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Wellness and family support programs.
Life and disability insurance.
Retirement savings plans.
Paid leave programs.
Education-related programs.
Paid holidays and vacation time.
Other benefits, many of which are subsidized or fully paid by the company.