People on the move at the top of the cosmetics industry

Estee Lauder, Revlon and Bare Essentials have all announced changes to their senior level management teams over the past week.

Head of Estee Lauder in North America retires

In a filing to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) Estee Lauder said Daniel Brestle, vice chairman and president of ELC North America, would retire on June 30.

Brestle has been with the company for many years taking up his latest role in March 2008. As well as being at the helm of the North American business, he oversaw the Estee Lauder, M-A-C, Prescriptives and Tom Ford beauty brands across the globe and led the BeautyBank division.

Between now and June, Estee Lauder said Brestle would work with CEO William Lauder and COO Fabrizio Freda on a transition of his responsibilities. No mention of a replacement was made.

Revlon changes head of R&D

Shortly after this announcement, Revlon gave advance warning of a change at the head of its research and development team.

At the end of the year, Neil Scancarella will step down as chief science officer, a position that he has held since January 2000.

Filling his shoes on January 1 will be Alan Meyers who has held R&D positions at Avon, Elizabeth Arden and L’Oreal. Most recently, Meyers served as SVP of R&D and consumer affairs at L’Oreal USA.

Commenting on the announcement, Revlon CEO David Kennedy said: “We are confident that Alan’s expertise, strong background and broad experience will continue to strengthen and build Revlon’s important research and development and product development activities.”

New addition to board of directors at Bare Escentuals

Meanwhile, Bare Escentuals announced the appointment of a new independent member of its board of directors.

John Hamilton, who has also been appointed to the board’s compensation committee, took up the position on March 10. He is currently president and managing partner of private equity firm Bozeman having previously spent eleven years at Dell.

His experience managing the online business at Dell and the global brand and advertising strategy is expected to come in useful at Bare Escentuals.

CEO Leslie Blodgett said: “John’s experience in translating a marketing strategy to sales execution in a multi-channel environment will be invaluable.”