Nicole Monson

Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, The Estee Lauder Companies

Bio Current as of September 15, 2020

Nicole S. Monson is Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Ms. Monson leads the Company’s labor and employment, ethics and data privacy functions. Her responsibilities also include managing employment litigation globally. Previously, Ms. Monson also led the Company’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption program. Ms. Monson also serves on the Company’s Diversity Counsel. Ms. Monson has a reputation as a trusted legal advisor for providing C-suite, human resources and business leaders with strategic, pragmatic legal 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 legal 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 corporate and investment banking 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, including the Association of Corporate Counsel and National Employment Law Council. She is a member of 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 was also selected for inclusion into The National Black Lawyers – Top 100 Lawyers.