THIA BREEN SHAREN JESTER TURNEY President of Estee Lauder Americas and Head of Global Development Chief Executive Officer and President, Victoria's Secret Megabrand and Intimate Apparel

THIA BREEN

PRESIDENT, ESTÈE LAUDER AMERICAS & GLOBAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

In August 2006 Thia Breen was promoted to President, Estée Lauder Americas and Global Business Development.  In this position, Thia oversees worldwide financial direction of the brand and new launch management for the Estée Lauder brand as well as day-to-day supervision of the Estée Lauder business in the Americas.

Thia has spent the majority of her career at The Estée Lauder Companies.  She first joined company in 1977 starting as a Clinique Account Executive in Los Angeles, and three years later joining the Aramis brand.  By 1985, she was named National Sales Manager, Aramis and in 1992 was appointed the first National Sales Manager for Origins, where as a member of the founding team she helped establish the brand’s unique profile.  

Thia returned to Clinique in 1996 as Senior Vice President National Sales Manager, building a winning sales team that brought Clinique to the number one position in cosmetics in USA department store distribution.  In 2001, she was named Senior Vice President, General Manager Clinique North America. 

She left The Estée Lauder Companies in December 2002 and joined Federated Merchandising Group as Senior Vice President, Cosmetics and Fragrances.  In her tenure at Federated, Thia gained further insight into the many challenges of today ’s retailing environment.

Thia re-joined The Estée Lauder Companies in January 2005 as President, Estée Lauder Americas, a position she held until her recent promotion.

Thia is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a degree in marketing. She serves as Chairman of the Mother’s Day Council and sits on the board.  In addition, Thia serves on the board of Cosmetic Executive Women, The Skin Cancer Foundation and Fashion Group International.  She is also an executive committee member of The Fragrance Foundation.

SHAREN JESTER TURNEY

PRESIDENT AND CEO
VICTORIA'S SECRET MEGABRAND

Sharen Jester Turney is President and CEO of the Victoria’s Secret Megabrand.   Previously, Ms. Turney held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Victoria’s Secret Direct, the brand’s catalogue and e-commerce arm, since May 2000. Under Ms. Turney’s leadership, Victoria’s Secret Direct became one of the world’s largest direct marketers of Women’s Apparel and Lingerie in the country reaching over $1.2 billion in sales in 2005.

Ms. Turney joined Victoria’s Secret Direct from Neiman Marcus where her roles included Executive Vice President for merchandising, creative production, advertising and public relations, and Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager for Neiman Marcus stores.  In 1999, Ms. Turney was named President and Chief Executive Officer of NM Direct, the company’s $322 million direct marketing business.  NM Direct includes the catalogue and e-commerce businesses of Neiman Marcus, Horchow and Chef’s Catalog.

Ms. Turney began her career in 1979 at Foley’s and went on to work with Byer California and Federated Department Stores.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in business education from The University of Oklahoma.

An active member in her community since she began her career, Ms. Turney held Director seats on the Winston School, Addison Theater Boards and has also served as the Campaign Chairman of the United Way in Dallas. Ms. Turney is the 2006 Honorary Co-Chair for Children’s Hunger Alliance whose mission is to eliminate childhood hunger in Ohio.  She currently is a Board Member for Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence and the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative Advisory Board at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

In 1997, Ms. Turney received the Fashion Medal of Honor for Fashion Retailing and in 2005 she received the Dr. Catherine White Achievement Award from HeartShare Human Services which promotes self-sufficiency for more than 16,000 children, adults and families throughout New York.  Ms. Turney was inducted into the Hall of Fame Business of Education at The University of Oklahoma in 2005.