Estée Lauder announces retirement of ELC online president Dennis McEniry

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Oct 18, 2020

The Estée Lauder Companies has announced that Dennis McEniry, president of ELC’s online division and a 20-year veteran of the company, will retire at the end of this calendar year. 

McEniry joined ELC as vice president of technology, in 2001, when its e-commerce platform -- first launched in 1996 -- was still in its early stages. He became the first-ever president of ELC pnline in 2003, and is credited by the company with expanding ELC online from just four U.S.-based websites to a global presence in more than 50 countries; 350 brand.com sites; 80 brand boutiques on platforms like China's online B2C retailer Tmall; and 1,700 retailer.com doors.

Throughout fiscal 2020, the company also said McEniry and his team played a crucial role in accelerating investments across ELC’s brand sites during the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, ELC online represented 22% of the company’s net sales for the 2020 fiscal year.

“[McEniry] has been a truly innovative and visionary digital leader,” said Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer.

“As the inaugural president of ELC online, he has overseen the formation and incredible expansion of this division. Thanks to him and his team, ELC online remains vital to our strong and sustainable growth, and is a leading, brand-building platform that enables us to deliver high-quality products and experiences to millions of consumers worldwide."

McEniry will be succeeded by Gibu Thomas, who will take on the role of president of ELC online as of November 16, 2020. He will report to Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer. 

Thomas comes to the company from PepsiCo, Inc., where he served as senior vice president and global head of e-commerce over the past five years. During his time with the company, he and his team were responsible for opening PepsiCo’s first dedicated e-commerce headquarters in New York City, as well as a digital hub in Silicon Valley.

Thomas has also previously served as senior vice president, mobile and digital at Walmart Inc., where he oversaw all mobile initiatives across stores and online, as well as digital media programs, including content services, owned devices and partnership. In the role, he also had direct P&L responsibility for Vudu, a movie streaming service owned by Walmart at the time. Over the course of his career, he also worked as a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley during the early-to-mid 2000s. 

“[Thomas] is a highly talented and respected digital expert with a proven record of success in e-commerce, technology infrastructure, digital media, mobile and omnichannel," Freda said. 

"His deep understanding of consumer behavior, and ability to anticipate trends and build dynamic digital experiences, make him ideally suited to this role.”