The Estée Lauder Companies and Ulta Beauty have used a New York fireside chat between Tara Simon and Kecia Steelman to spotlight a shared agenda: leading with authenticity, scaling with purpose, and using their partnership to lift women across the beauty industry, not just inside their own companies. Hosted by The Estée Lauder Companies Women’s Leadership Network, the conversation was as much about careers and allyship as it was about retail strategy.
Two leaders, one long term partnership
Tara Simon, President, The Americas at The Estée Lauder Companies, oversees strategy and execution across the U.S., Canada and Latin America, driving growth and profitability in brick and mortar channels, including specialty multi partners like Ulta. She previously served as Global Brand President of Too Faced, and before joining ELC, held senior merchandising roles at Ulta Beauty itself.
Kecia Steelman, President and CEO of Ulta Beauty, leads the largest beauty retailer in…
the U.S., with more than 1,500 stores nationwide and a portfolio spanning mass, masstige and prestige brands, including a significant Estée Lauder presence. Their shared history supplier and retailer, but also former colleagues gave the discussion an unusually candid tone.
Journeys from sales floor to C suite During the fireside chat, the two leaders reflected on their own paths: Kecia Steelmanspoke about starting on the sales floor and learning the business from the guest up, bringing that lens into her role leading a national retailer.
Tara Simontraced her journey from merchant and brand leader to overseeing ELC’s entire Americas region, including steering transformation in a complex, fast evolving market.
Both positioned their careers as proof that non linear paths, operational experience and “learning in the aisles” can be powerful foundations for executive leadership in beauty…
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