Dec 8, 2019
John Demsey's first boss told him that he would "never amount to anything and that he didn't have IT." But this boy from Cleveland, Ohio, had dreams of making it in the beauty industry. With no network or relevant experience, John Demsey set out to work his way up, making mistakes and experiencing disappointments along the way.
Today as the Executive Group President of The Estee Lauder Companies, he is an award-winning creative visionary, strategic thinker, and accomplished brand builder. John is credited with establishing the previously unprecedented link between beauty, fashion, entertainment, celebrity, and pop culture. Among the many brands he oversees, he is most known for transforming M.A.C Cosmetics from a small, niche, makeup "artist" brand in 1998 into the global cosmetics powerhouse that it is today. He also worked with Tom Ford to build Tom Ford Beauty from scratch.
As a philanthropist, John serves as the Chairman of the M·A·C AIDS Fund, which has raised more than $480 million to date in the fight against HIV/AIDS, spearheading the wildly successful M·A·C VIVA GLAM celebrity campaigns.
There is so much to learn from John's incredible journey, work ethic, and loyalty to the company he has been with since 1991.