The Estée Lauder Companies has hired Aude Gandon as its first chief digital and marketing officer (CDMO). Effective Aug. 1, she will report to Stéphane de La Faverie, the brand’s president and CEO.
Gandon joins from Nestlé, where she held the CDMO title since 2020. Before that, she worked as global brand managing director at Google for its platforms and ecosystems like Android, Google Play, and Chrome, leading integrated brand and creative strategies across five continents. She also directed accounts at agencies like Publicis, McCann, and Leo Burnett.
“Aude is an exceptional and accomplished global marketing leader with extensive experience transforming major consumer-facing businesses in the digital age,” said de La Faverie in a statement. “Her deep expertise across all facets of marketing—from brand strategy and creative development to digital transformation and data analytics—will be instrumental as we continue to build stronger consumer connections.”
As CDMO, the exec will lead the beauty company’s precision marketing, creative operations, consumer and category insights, regional store design and visual merchandising, omnichannel media strategy, and global consumer care. She will also oversee global digital commerce and partner closely with regional leadership to accelerate online performance.
Per the brand, her remit is intended to “elevate the consumer journey at every touch point.”
“As consumer behaviors continue to evolve, the opportunity to lead the digital and marketing transformation for a premier prestige beauty company is incredibly exciting,” said Gandon. “I look forward to partnering with the talented teams there to enhance our digital capabilities, deepen consumer connections, and drive growth across brands and channels.”
With over 20 brands like Clinique, MAC, and Tom Ford across more than 150 markets, Estée Lauder recently partnered with Adobe to incorporate generative AI into its product ads for better work efficiency.
“These tools have given our team a lot of capability to be more creative and free up their time from doing all of the media work—no one wants to do 700 versions,” Yuri Ezhkov, vp of the brand’s Creative Center of Excellence, told ADWEEK in March.
