The Estée Lauder Companies has appointed René Lammers as executive vice-president and chief research and innovation officer, effective from 1 October 2025.  

Lammers will directly report to president and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie and become a member of the company’s executive team. 

Stéphane de La Faverie said: “Creating transformative innovation is integral to our strategic vision of Beauty Reimagined, and with René’s leadership, we are elevating our capabilities to deliver even more breakthrough new products as well as on-trend innovation more quickly across prestige price tiers.  

“With this appointment, I am excited that my executive team is now complete and positioned to lead the company into its next chapter of growth and transformation.” 

In his new role, Lammers will guide the global research and innovation capabilities across Estée Lauder's brand portfolio.

His responsibilities will include product and clinical innovation, regulatory strategy, scientific affairs, and upstream technologies.

He will oversee the company’s research and innovation centres worldwide. 

Lammers will also focus on delivering ‘fast-to-market’ solutions, driving disruptive technologies, and science-based platforms designed to enhance quality, performance, sustainability and safety.

Expanding collaborations with global scientific and academic institutions and furthering external innovation with strategic partners, particularly in biotechnology and longevity science, will also be key areas of focus.

Lammers joins Estée Lauder from PepsiCo, where he was executive vice-president and chief science officer, and has also held senior roles at Unilever. 

Estée Lauder is a global company engaged in the creation, marketing, and distribution of skincare, make-up, fragrance, and haircare products available in around 150 countries and territories worldwide.