Estée Lauder's Olivier Bottrie announces retirement

The Estée Lauder Companies has announced that Olivier Bottrie, Global President of Travel Retail and Retail Development, will retire after 26 years at the company.

Bottrie will transition to a special advisor role effective 1 May 2022 and will depart the company on 30 June 2022. Successors for both Travel Retail and Retail Development roles will be announced soon, with Bottrie set to work closely with the new appointments to support a smooth and successful transition.

As the head of ELC’s global Travel Retail business since 2004, Bottrie has built a strategic and action-oriented team to grow the Travel Retail channel, which now spans 140 countries and territories.

In 2017, Bottrie began to manage Retail Development, overseeing the company’s freestanding store portfolio and strengthening retail to drive increased consumer coverage and profit. In particular, he created a new global store design structure, accelerated omnichannel integration and supervised the development of bespoke retail organisations.

Fabrizio Freda, President and CEO at Estee Lauder Companies, said: “Olivier is a strategic leader with clarity of vision, deep international expertise and a dynamic and inclusive leadership style.

"He has been a driving force for innovation and growth, leveraging his strong relationships, commitment to excellence and laser focus on the traveling consumer’s needs to transform Travel Retail into a growth and profit driver for the company. Throughout his career and especially over the last two years, Olivier has been a guiding force and mentor for his talented team, always leading with confidence and compassion. His presence will be greatly missed across the organisation and throughout the industry.”