ELC’s Jane Lauder Speaks at Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity

Led by Jane Lauder, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Marketing & Chief Data Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) returned to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year to drive critical conversations, build cross-sector partnerships, and extend awareness of the organization’s industry-leading work at the intersection of technology, AI, creativity, and women’s advancement.

As the largest global convening of marketing, advertising, creative, corporate, and technology leaders, Cannes Lions serves as an annual kick-off among the creative community—a chance for leaders to gather to discuss the most pressing challenges and breakthrough advances of the year. The 5-day convening included 15,000 registered delegates from more than 90 countries.

At this year’s festival, ELC partnered with the United Nations Foundation, Microsoft Advertising, and Karlie Kloss, founder of Kode With Klossy and Estée Lauder Global Brand Ambassador, to host a curated roundtable of corporate, public sector, and NGO leaders to discuss critical solutions to address the global gender digital divide and the need to advance more women in STEM during this time of advancements in technology and the rise of AI.

“We have both an opportunity and a challenge before us,” said Michelle Milford Morse, VP of Women and Girls Strategy for the United Nations Foundation. “Globally, 17% of women don’t even have access to mobile technology. That translates to millions of women who are estranged from digital entrepreneurship, health care, and education. The biggest need is for each of us to challenge the way things are.”

With only one in 8 C-suite tech positions being held by women, Jane emphasized the role that businesses can play. “At The Estée Lauder Companies, 60% of our scientists and engineers are women and all 6 of our research and development labs are run by women. But we don’t want that to be something that is seen as special and unique, we want that to be an industry norm,” said Jane. “All of us—public and private sectors—can play a big role in trying to solve this issue, but we will always be more powerful when we collectively work together."

Throughout the week, ELC participated in a host of other panels, roundtables, and curated conversations with partners like Google, the World Federation of Advertising, Whaler, CreativeX, PRWeek, Lighthouse, Glamour magazine, and the United Nations Foundation, among others—all examining the role creativity plays in technology and business.

As a leader in the beauty industry, ELC will continue to drive advancements in innovation, creativity, and impact across our functions and teams. “I’m so passionate about women in STEM because it’s these tech capabilities that enable our infinite possibilities,” said Jane. “With creativity at the forefront, we’re strengthening our company for today and for the future.”

Learn more about how ELC is leveraging AI and creativity.