Once Fired by Estée Lauder, John Demsey Joined LVMH-backed L Catterton as Senior Advisor

John Demsey, the former executive group president of beauty giant Estée Lauder, joined LVMH-backed private firm L Catterton as a senior advisor. The PE firm showed interest in the high-end beauty market with this appointment.

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John Demsey, the former executive group president of Estée Lauder, has taken on the role of senior advisor at L Catterton, a private firm based in the United States. This move indicates L Catterton's keen interest in the luxury beauty industry.

John Demsey graduated from Stanford University with receiving Bachelor of Science in Economics, French Literature and then obtained an MBA from New York University. He joined Estée Lauder Companies in 1991, and in 1998, he became President of M·A·C. Starting in 2016, he served as executive group president of Estée Lauder.

During his tenure at Estée Lauder, John Demsey oversaw some of the beauty giant's most well-known brands, including MAC, Tom Ford Beauty, Clinique, and Estée Lauder. Before this, he held executive positions in merchandising, buying, and retail for Revlon, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Benetton.

last year, John Demsey was required to leave Estée Lauder after a controversial Instagram post that included a racial slur and a joke about COVID-19.

L Catterton, a global consumer-focused investment fund, was formed in 2016 through the merger of private equity firms Catterton and L Capital. After the completion of the merger, L Catterton was 60% owned by the partners of L Catterton and 40% jointly owned by LVMH and Groupe Arnault.

L Catterton has made several investments in the beauty industry. The US-based PE firm recently has provided a "significant" amount of growth capital investment to Dibs Beauty, a vegan and cruelty-free color cosmetics brand.

In October 2022, L Catterton established a fund denominated in Chinese yuan that is dedicated to investments in the consumer industry in China, with a focus on early-stage investments. The investment for the PE firm in China Included Marubi, the Chinese skincare brand, and China Taiwan skincare brand DR.WU.