Yahoo Lifestyle Shana Randhava Is Leaving Estée Lauder’s New Incubation Ventures
LONDON – Beauty dealmaker Shana Randhava is stepping down from her role as senior vice president, New Incubation Ventures, at The Estée Lauder Cos., according to a letter seen by WWD.
Randhava became vice president of NIV in October, 2020, and was promoted to senior vice president two years later. NIV is the group’s strategic, early-stage investment and incubation arm, that partners with beauty founders and entrepreneurs.
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She has worked on a host of deals including the acquisition of Kilian Paris and strategic investments in brands including Haeckels, Kiki World and the Chinese brands Melt Season, and Code Mint.
She was also behind the investment in Vyrao, the British fragrance brand founded by Yasmin Sewell. The unisex fragrances promise “energetic healing” with help from a Herkimer diamond crystal in each bottle.
Before taking up the role at NIV, Randhava served as vice president, new business development, and was replaced in that role by Dave Smith.
In a letter addressed to friends and colleagues, Randhava said that after “ten extraordinary years” at The Estée Lauder Companies, she has “stepped away to embark on a new chapter.”
Randhava said she was grateful for the opportunity to shape the group’s global M&A strategy and build NIV into a “platform to discover, scale, and invest in the next generation of beauty innovation.”
She said that NIV’s programs, such as Beauty & You in India, The Catalysts, and NIV Scouts “have been especially meaningful in fostering entrepreneurship, driving innovation, and creating collaboration across the beauty ecosystem.”
Last year in Paris, Randhava headlined the jury for the debut Catalysts competition, where the winners were Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Etia London and Ruka.
The competition, which took place with support from TikTok, offers winners financial backing, mentorship and project assistance.
“The Catalysts program far surpassed our expectations. With over 800 applicants from around the world, the program highlighted the incredible creative talent driving the future of beauty,” said Randhava.
In the letter, Randhava promised to share more about her upcoming plans soon, adding that her “passion for building visionary brands and driving disruptive innovation remains as strong as ever. I am energized by the next wave of consumer venture. Working alongside visionary founders, investors, and operators has only reinforced my belief that the most transformative opportunities aren’t just identified—they’re catalyzed. I’m excited to continue challenging boundaries and building alongside the visionaries shaping what’s next.”
WWD has reached out to Estée Lauder for comment.
Lauder has a long history of M&A, and built its business buying core brands including MAC and La Mer. It has also been making minority investments in other businesses via NIV.
Randhava’s departure comes amid a slew of management and strategic changes at The Estée Lauder Cos.
She is also the latest major M&A player to leave a multi-national over the past year.
Last June, Vasiliki Petrou quit Unilever as chief executive officer of the Prestige Division, which she established more than a decade ago.
Petrou made a series of rapid-fire acquisitions resulting in a portfolio of 11 brands overall. As reported, she has been replaced by the former Pandora executive Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson as CEO of the division.
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