The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has announced that Georgia Garinois-Melenikiotou will become senior vice president, corporate marketing, effective April 1, 2010. She will report to president and chief executive officer, Fabrizio Freda, and become a member of the executive leadership team.

Garinois-Melenikiotou will lead the newly created corporate marketing Center of Excellence. In her new role, she will oversee the corporate marketing team that will support The Estée Lauder Companies’ brands, research & development teams and regional team’s efforts by further developing the company’s global consumer knowledge and marketing capability. Under Garinois-Melenikiotou’s leadership, the team will work to further strengthen consumer marketing efficacy and efficiency across the organization. It will also provide internal and external best-in-class marketing strategies, tools and approaches to help brands develop competitive advantages. These will include activities such as CRM, advertising and media services, multicultural marketing, consumer research, digital marketing and other related activities. The team will also enhance the use of consumer knowledge and insight for inspiration in the product and service development process and provide high-quality marketing services to the company’s brands and regions based on their business plans.

“Our mission is to understand global consumers as well as Mrs. Estée Lauder understood her first consumers at high-end retail accounts when she founded our great company,” said Freda. “The heart of our company has been our commitment to understanding our consumer’s desires and aspirations, which allows us to deliver products and services in ways that are relevant and efficient. Our innovative products and high-touch services will continue to be inspired by consumers, not dictated by them. This is what makes us a creative centric, consumer inspired company. I am confident that Georgia’s extensive marketing experience, her deep knowledge of the global marketing and innovation process, combined with her comprehensive understanding of the beauty industry will make her a fantastic addition to our leadership team.”

Garinois-Melenikiotou joins the company from Johnson & Johnson where she held various global leadership positions for over 20 years. Most recently, she was president, beauty global business unit strategy and new growth with responsibility for developing and implementing global growth strategies with the beauty global business unit at J & J. Her marketing experience includes the successful establishment of a consumer marketing/customer knowledge/innovation function at J & J and the expansion of marketing capabilities across the company.