Douge International

𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔. 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. Not the buildings, though he certainly left those. What I mean is the emotional scaffolding of a house like The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. A company that still refers to itself as a family. A company that—unlike most—never forgot how to blend intimacy with scale. This week, WWD published a reflection that struck a chord: “𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑂𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑟.” “𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑.” “𝐻𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔: ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛’𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒?” For those of us working quietly behind the mirrors—whether advising in the shadows at large international luxury groups —we know that true luxury is not just scarcity. It is 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. Of a worldview. A ritual. A language. A standard. In the last 30 years, I’ve been privileged to support beauty and luxury houses through unspoken transitions: - Board shifts where silence was louder than statements - Successions where legacy had to be held before strategy could be redesigned - Talent architectures where one question mattered most: 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑓—𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝐸𝐵𝐼𝑇? Leonard knew the answer. His passing reminds me that our work as advisors is not just about change—it’s about 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲. It’s about heirlooms without heirs and making space for new forms of cultural stewardship. He never stopped writing. So let’s keep reading. Ollivier Douge Douge International #LeonardLauder #EsteeLauderCompanies #Legacy #Luxury #Governance #DougeInternational #Douge #Culture #Education #TransmissionNotJustTransformation

📍 Athens, May 2025 ReGeneration isn’t just closing a skills gap — it’s rebuilding civic confidence, one graduate at a time. In a country known for its ancient intellectual heritage, this team is pioneering something equally bold: modern humanism in action. They select young Greeks with potential, not privilege — train them with business and soft skills — and launch them into careers that benefit both companies and society. With AI, climate, and shifting industries pressing in, we need institutions that move from education to action, from talent to trust. I left Athens deeply moved — not by scale, but by clarity of purpose. We’ll build on this. Thank you to Nikos Koumettis, Maria Moragianis, Stavros Mourelatos, Alexandra Nikopoulou, PhD and the entire ReGeneration team for the inspiring exchange. Let’s see how far we can take this — together. Ollivier Douge #ReGeneration #Education #DougeInternational (Photo: ReGeneration HQ, Athens — featuring David Savourat and the fantastic team.)