William Lauder celebrated the legacy of Leonard Lauder during the opening night keynote at the 2026 Beauty CEO Summit as beauty industry leaders gathered at The Breakers in Palm Beach.William Lauder celebrated the legacy of Leonard Lauder during the opening night keynote at the 2026 Beauty CEO Summit as beauty industry leaders gathered at The Breakers in Palm Beach.
William Lauder followed in his late father’s footsteps on Monday night at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. The chairman of the Estée Lauder Cos. took to the stage on night one of the 2026 Beauty CEO Summit as the evening’s keynote speaker to talk legacy and leadership.
Leonard Lauder, who died last June at 92, gave the landmark address at the inaugural event in 1997.
The industry came out to support the Lauder family — including Venus Williams and husband Andrea Preti, along with Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger.
Marissa Alper
“Leonard was my mentor,” said Hilfiger, noting Estée Lauder signed its first global licensing agreement with Tommy Hilfiger in the early ’90s to create and distribute its beauty products, such as the best-selling Tommy and Tommy Girl fragrances. “He was like my father figure. He loved people. He was always very kind and very supportive and motivating to people.”
Williams, meanwhile, praised the Lauders and their accomplishments through the years.
“Estée Lauder was started by a strong woman founder and to this day the company is amazing, with William at the helm, creating opportunity and opening news doors,” the tennis star said. “It’s just a great legacy.”
Opportunity may be understatement. Last month, Lauder and Puig confirmed they are in talks about a potential merger, which would result in a business with over $20 billion in annual revenues making it the largest premium beauty player worldwide.
Marissa Alper
Lauder stayed mum on the topic while in conversation with Beauty Inc. editor-in-chief Jenny B. Fine. “You’ll get nothing and you’ll like it,” he joked with the audience. “I can’t share much,” he continued, “but we are still in conversations.”
He did, however, add what his father might think of all of this: “I was a friend of Marc Puig for over 30 years, and Marc’s father, Mariano, and my father were friends for many decades. We both had a great mutual respect for each other, and both companies are very similar in value.”
Earlier in the evening, Lauder told WWD the biggest topic is the future, “what’s going to happen” and “where is change coming?” The challenge, the exec said, is recognizing change, see it, prepare for it and “try to be the winners.”
Other guests in attendance at the 2026 Beauty CEO Summit included Estée Lauder Companies’ Jane Lauder, Matt Rubel and Tara Simon, Unilever president Herrish Patel, Alexis Perakis-Valat, CEO of L’Oréal USA and president of North America, Lauren Brindley, chief Merchandising and digital officer at Ulta Beauty and many more.
Follow along for more coverage from the three-day event as the leading founders of today offer insights on growth and innovation.
