Jane Lauder is departing Estée Lauder, taking her out of the race to lead the company her grandmother founded

Jane Lauder is stepping down from Estée Lauder, which her grandmother founded in 1946.

Jane Lauder, whose grandmother founded Estée Lauder and who was seen as a contender to become its next CEO, is set to depart the company.

Lauder joined the family-run company in 1996. In 2020, she was named its first executive vice president of enterprise marketing and chief data officer. Before that, she worked in senior leadership positions for brands including Clinique, Origins, and Darphin, which are all owned by Estée Lauder.

The fashion trade outlet WWD first reported the news. Estée Lauder confirmed the story but said it would not be issuing a statement.

Her departure comes amid a leadership shake-up for Estée Lauder, which announced in August that its longtime CEO Fabrizio Freda would retire at the end of the 2025 financial year.

Fabrizio Freda is set to leave Estée Lauder next year. The company hasn’t announced a successor.

Also in August, Estée Lauder reported a 2% decrease in organic sales for the year ending in June, citing “ongoing softness in China” as a key reason. Freda called the sales and profit outlook for the 2025 financial year “disappointing.”

Estée Lauder said at the time that it was “well advanced in its long-established CEO succession planning process” and that the board was considering internal and external candidates.

In an internal memo, Lauder said she planned to remain a board member and shareholder, WWD reported.

“The company is embarking on a necessary and fundamental turnaround,” Lauder said, per WWD. “I have thought about how I can be most effective in helping the company reclaim its rightful position as the world’s leader in prestige beauty and restore long term shareholder value.”

Lauder also said in the memo that she’d remain an advisor to the CEO in the coming months.

Aerin Lauder, William Lauder, and Jane Lauder represented the third generation of their family’s business.

Lauder isn’t the only family member to have had leadership stints at her grandmother’s company.

Her cousin William Lauder stepped down as CEO in 2009 to serve as Estée Lauder’s executive chairman. Her sister, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, also spent decades working at the company before launching her luxury lifestyle brand Aerin, which is part of Estée Lauder’s portfolio.

Jane Lauder will soon no longer be involved in day-to-day operations at Estée Lauder, but her family still owns a 38% share of the company and has most of the voting rights.