Left: William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies. Right: Estée Lauder Pink Ribbon Enamel Pin.

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies, updates us on the incredible impact of the company’s Breast Cancer Campaign. 

Congratulations on the launch of Estée Lauder Companies’ (ELC) 32^nd Breast Cancer Campaign (BCC). What can we expect to see from the BCC this year in terms of key messages and global activations?

William P. Lauder: Thank you – we are honoured to be a part of this deeply impactful work for three decades and counting, but our work is far from over. Our company remains committed to supporting all of those impacted by this disease. The fact remains, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide and recently research has shown that breast cancer diagnoses in women under 50 have been rising. 

These findings emphasise the need for The Campaign to focus on educating diverse, multi-generational women on all aspects of the disease, particularly prevention and early detection. You’ll continue to hear from us on the importance of breast health advocacy – inspiring people everywhere to be proactive about their health. This October, we will host a multitude of activations around the world that will educate the public, engage with our employees and consumers, and raise critical funds for research. 

Please bring us up to date with the impact that ELC’s five-year $15m commitment to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), made in 2022, is having and what BCRF is striving to achieve? 

This important commitment was made by the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation in honour of The Campaign’s 30^th anniversary to establish the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Health Equity Initiative. This comprehensive study on the intersection of social determinants of health, comorbidities and the biology of breast cancer in Black women has the potential to significantly impact breast cancer disparities globally. 

In 2024, a diverse steering committee comprised of six of BCRF’s top research/clinical investigators from acclaimed academic and medical institutions identified three large datasets with substantial information about the specific cancers, comorbidities, social determinants of health, and corresponding tumour specimens of thousands of Black women in the US with breast cancer. The project yielded insights that underscore the significance of early detection and suggest the importance of interventions to increase access to both screening and primary care.

BCRF is supporting research that harnesses the potential of AI to benefit breast cancer patients.

How is BCRF, of which you are a Co-chair, harnessing the power of big data and leveraging technology to amplify the impact of its investments? 

BCRF is making tremendous efforts to leverage technology to improve outcomes, and we’re still just scratching the surface. In 2022, they launched their Global Data Hub, an innovative, centralised collection of breast cancer research data that will dramatically expedite new studies and amplify the impact of all BCRF investments. It is the first Global Data Hub dedicated to breast cancer research.

The BCRF Global Data Hub will include all relevant BCRF-supported datasets from its investigators around the world, and in the outyears, data will be invited from and made available to the wider breast cancer community to ultimately impact all the research being conducted in this space. 

One of BCRF’s biggest datasets to date is the world’s largest repository of matched primary and metastatic tumour data, collected by the AURORA projects, which will be included in BCRF’s Global Data Hub. Based in both Europe and the US, AURORA is supported by BCRF’s Evelyn H. Lauder Founder’s Fund for Metastatic Breast Cancer Research.

BCRF is supporting research that harnesses the potential of AI to benefit breast cancer patients. AI can open doors to earlier and improved breast cancer detection, better personalise treatment plans, speed drug discovery, and ultimately, improve outcomes.

Tell us about some of the biggest breakthroughs in research, diagnosis and treatment that you are particularly proud of. 

Every time I have the opportunity to meet with the scientists and researchers who have dedicated their lives to this work, I walk away feeling deeply inspired and exceptionally proud. Some of their biggest breakthroughs have been centred around precision medicine, providing patients with personalised treatments that have, most importantly, been effective. The success of these treatments is evident in the 43 percent decline in breast cancer mortality over the last 30 years in the US. Together, we’re saving lives through research, and what’s more: we’re getting better and better at it.

Harnessing the collaborative efforts of many is key to achieving the aims of ELC’s Breast Cancer Campaign.

How does it feel to carry on the legacy of your late mother, Evelyn H. Lauder, who wanted to rid the world of breast cancer – especially as the leader of a company with a workforce and consumer-base that is primarily women? 

My mother said that if we were to find a cure for breast cancer, it would have to be done through the collaborative efforts of many. To see her vision continued today is not only inspiring, but profoundly meaningful. At a time when an open conversation about breast cancer was needed, she recognised the need for change and began addressing stigmas in women’s health by bringing awareness to this disease and advocating for action. 

I am extraordinarily proud to lead an organisation that is dedicated to the wellbeing of women, both within our company and beyond our walls, and am deeply grateful to our employees around the world who find pride and purpose in carrying out this impactful work.

This feature first appeared in the October 2024 issue of TRBusiness magazine.

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