Communicator spotlight: Meridith Webster of The Estée Lauder Companies
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of The Estée Lauder Companies and Faris Hadziq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
As the executive vice president of global communications and public affairs at The Estée Lauder Companies, Meridith Webster is responsible for driving, elevating and protecting the reputations of the company, its brands and its leaders.
Why it matters: Webster's team is tasked with keeping Estée Lauder's corporate reputation intact amid a leadership change and family succession drama.
What she's saying: "The company's undergoing a leadership change. ... Change is hard," she told Axios.
- "Our CEO has been in the role 16 years. ... Our CFO also just retired and was in the role 12 years, then we have our North America head retiring Jan. 1. So as a communications team, our job is to communicate consistently, transparently, authentically and quickly to core audiences."
How she got here: Webster began her career in Washington, D.C., working for the Clinton administration before pursuing a law degree from Georgetown University.
- She then served as deputy chief of staff for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and worked in the Obama White House as special assistant to the president and senior adviser to the chief of staff.
- From there, Webster jumped into media, holding various roles at Bloomberg L.P. before joining Vox Media as its first chief communications officer.
- She most recently worked in the Biden administration before a recruiter reached out to her on LinkedIn with this opportunity at The Estée Lauder Companies.
How it's structured: Webster currently reports to president & CEO Fabrizio Freda and the chairman of the board, William Lauder.
- She oversees the global team responsible for communications and public affairs.
Smart communicators don't relish chaos but can manage it and drive what's next, she says.
- "I'm not an Oracle, but a good communications professional has to be able to see like the next five to 10 steps ahead, and then not just identify and admire the problem, but actually come up with how best to manage it."
Who she's watching: Companies that are also navigating leadership changes — in particular, Starbucks and Nike.
- "I find it really interesting how they are speaking to a wide array of stakeholder groups consistently, clearly, transparently and quickly. I'm watching them on LinkedIn, and how they're communicating using video, letters, or even how they post on their external facing website."
Content plate: She enjoys listening to podcasts in the morning while multitasking. "The Daily," "Pivot" and "BBC World News" are some of her favorites.
- Webster also recently binged the second season of "The Diplomat" on Netflix.
Zoom out: When she's not working, Webster is spending time with family. She has three sons — one in college and two in elementary school.
Best career advice came from Madeleine Albright, who told her that "you can have it all — just not at the same time."
Go deeper... subscribe to Axios Communicators.
