Nicole S. Monson
Senior Vice President, Equity and Engagement The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. Metropolitan (DC) Chapter
Nicole S. Monson is Senior Vice President, Equity and Engagement at The Estée Lauder
Companies Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers and sellers of quality skin
care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, and a steward of luxury and prestige brands
globally. Ms. Monson leads the Company’s Equity and Engagement Center of Excellence and is
responsible for overseeing the Company’s holistic, long-term Equity and Employee Engagement
strategy and enterprise-wide capabilities, which include the development and implementation of
proactive Equity and Engagement initiatives to drive sustainable progress and advance the
Company’s diverse global talent through deep engagement, career advancement and
development programs, hiring practices and beyond. Additionally, Ms. Monson leads the
Company’s Racial Equity initiative and is also responsible for Women’s Advancement and Gender
Equality, including oversight of the Open Doors Women’s Leadership Program. Ms. Monson also
co-leads the Social Impact pillar of the Company’s integrated Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) strategy, which, in addition to Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality
initiatives and Racial Equity, also includes Generational Diversity and Social Impact programs in
China.
Ms. Monson serves on the Company’s Diversity Council and leads the Company’s Gender
Equality Task Force. In addition, she is the Executive Sponsor of She’s Howard: Own Your
Power, The Estée Lauder Companies’ partnership with Howard University to support the success
of Howard’s alumnae. She is also the Executive Sponsor of the ELC X The Young Women’s
Leadership Schools partnership, which is focused on helping youth from diverse and underserved
communities achieve their academic and leadership potential.
Prior to being appointed to lead the Equity and Engagement Center of Excellence, Ms. Monson
was Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel responsible for the Company’s Labor and
Employment, Ethics and Data Privacy Legal groups. Previously, Ms. Monson also led the
Company’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption program.
Ms. Monson has a reputation as a trusted advisor for providing her stakeholders strategic,
pragmatic counsel on a wide range of sensitive, complex matters. She is viewed as a problem-
solver and a valued thought-partner with deep expertise and a proven track record evaluating and
mitigating risks, while supporting the commercial goals of the Company.
Previously, Ms. Monson served as Director, Global Compliance and Senior Associate General
Counsel at Ingersoll Rand Company. She was the chief implementer of Ingersoll Rand’s global
Ethics and Compliance program, including overseeing all investigations, training, development of
policies and procedures and management of the Company’s various reporting systems utilized
by employees and other stakeholders to escalate alleged violations of the Ingersoll Rand Code
of Conduct.
Prior to being promoted to Director, Global Compliance and Senior Associate General Counsel
at Ingersoll Rand, Ms. Monson was Assistant General Counsel, Labor and Employment for the
Company. In that role, she was responsible for providing legal support and guidance to the
business and human resources functions concerning management and mitigation of employment
legal risks involving both traditional and union locations across the United States, Mexico and
Canada. Before joining Ingersoll Rand, Ms. Monson spent several years in large and mid-size law firms
and in-house, including as an Associate in the Litigation practice group at Sullivan & Cromwell
LLP, an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice group at Davis & Gilbert LLP and Vice
President in Goldman Sachs’ Employee Relations function.
She clerked for the former Chief Judge of the United States District Court in the Western District
of Oklahoma, the Honorable Vicki Miles-LaGrange.
Prior to her legal career, Ms. Monson spent three years in various finance roles, including financial
and management accounting and analysis and internal audit functions.
Ms. Monson earned a BA in Economics, cum laude, from Spelman College and a JD, cum laude,
from Howard University School of Law.
She has been a guest speaker for several local and national organizations and programs,
including the Association of Corporate Counsel, National Bar Association, Grantmakers for Girls
of Color, Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, World Economic Forum and National
Employment Law Council. She is a member of CHIEF, the Society of Corporate Compliance and
Ethics, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Corporate
Counsel Women of Color, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and The Links, Incorporated.
Ms. Monson also was selected for inclusion into The National Black Lawyers – Top 100 Lawyers
as well as the National Diversity Council’s Power 50.
