Gibu Thomas

Executive Vice President, Online

Gibu Thomas is the Executive Vice President of Online at The Estée Lauder Companies, a position he assumed in 2020. In this role, Gibu leads the holistic strategic direction and execution globally of the company's Online business across direct-to-consumer and indirect channels, including brand.com, retailer.com, pure players, third-party platforms, and social commerce. He oversees regional Online leaders across 6 global regions and has built a world-class leadership team with deep expertise in e-commerce, growth marketing, technology, consumer experience, mobile, and omnichannel, which has been instrumental in accelerating and transforming this strategic and fast-growing channel for the company, in close collaboration with ELC's robust portfolio of prestige and luxury brands.

Gibu has an outstanding track record as a highly entrepreneurial and innovative e-commerce leader with a keen business sense and technical acumen who has successfully led digital transformations at multiple Fortune 50 companies. He joined ELC from PepsiCo Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of E-Commerce for five years, and was responsible for the holistic strategic direction and execution of the company's global e-commerce business, growing it to be the company's most significant growth engine. Gibu also served multiple roles at Walmart Inc., including Senior Vice President, Strategy, and Senior Vice President, Mobile and Digital. He was a key architect of Walmart’s significant omnichannel transformation, led all mobile and digital media initiatives across stores and online, and helped create WalmartLabs—a cornerstone of Walmart's talent transformation—during his tenure. Earlier in his career, Gibu was a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, helping to build multiple innovative startups, including SugarSync, a pioneer in mobile synchronization and cloud services, where he served as Chief Executive Officer.

As a committed champion of leadership development through mentorship, diversity, inclusivity, and equity, Gibu has advocated for greater ID&E practices within ELC Online and throughout the organization. He has established a dedicated Online ID&E Task Force, is a member of ELC's Diversity Council, a sponsor of 'From Every Chair,' a supporter of Open Doors and Women in Tech, and is the Executive Sponsor for the GenNext Employee Resource Group.

Gibu serves on the Board of Directors of FEMSA, Inc., and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Kerala in India. He currently resides in New York City with his wife and two children.