NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 2006--The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) has appointed Beth DiNardo to the position of Senior Vice President/General Manager of Rodan + Fields Worldwide and of Darphin North America, effective July 31, 2006. She succeeds Shashi Batra and will report to Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies.

"We are very pleased that Beth will be leading Rodan + Fields and Darphin as these brands enter an important new phase," said Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne. "She is a respected leader and proven brand builder. These abilities, along with her years of success in marketing, focus on global business growth and passionate, creative approach to management, will lead Rodan + Fields Worldwide and Darphin North America to dynamic growth on a global level."

A nine-year veteran of the Company, Ms. DiNardo was most recently Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, for Clinique, where she oversaw all of the worldwide marketing activities for the brand. She was named Vice President, Global Marketing, in September 2001. During her time at Clinique, Ms. DiNardo spearheaded the development of successful franchises such as All About Eyes, Acne Solutions, Total Turnaround, Perfectly Real make-up and High Impact Mascara. She has continued to grow the 3-Step business with products such as Liquid Soap and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel and programs such as the "Can Great Skin Be Created?" campaign. Ms. DiNardo recently led her team in the kick-off of the new 360 degree Happy Music campaign and the development of creative new approaches for the upcoming Gift With Purchase programs.

Ms. Dinardo began her career in consumer packaged goods at Pepsico and then held several marketing positions at Tambrands. In 1994, she became Director of Marketing at Revlon and was later named Director of Skincare there.

Rodan + Fields was founded by Stanford University-trained dermatologists Katie Rodan, M.D., and Kathy Fields, M.D., and acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies in 2003. The brand offers solutions for specific skin problems, targeting them with individually packaged, dedicated regimens trademarked as Multi-Med Therapy. Product lines including Unblemish, Reverse, Soothe, Essentials and Anti-Age merge effective over-the-counter medicines with soothing botanicals to offer proven results.

Darphin is a well-established, Paris-based skin care brand that offers prestige skin care, makeup and personal care products created from the finest plant extracts and botanical aromas. It was acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies in 2003.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The Company's products are sold in over 130 countries and territories under well-recognized brand names, including Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins, M-A-C, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, La Mer, Donna Karan, Aveda, Jo Malone, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Michael Kors, Rodan + Fields, American Beauty, Flirt!, Good Skin(TM), Donald Trump the Fragrance, Grassroots(TM), Sean John, Missoni and Daisy Fuentes.

CONTACT: for The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Media Relations: Sally Susman, 212-572-4430 or Investor Relations: Dennis D'Andrea, 212-572-4384 SOURCE: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.