To kickstart our focus on the Gurus of the Walpole Power List, we profile The Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland’s Anna Bartle, one of the luxury sector’s most influential and best-known communicators – and co-lead of ELC’s sustainability agenda – who shares a pearl of wisdom from the company’s Chairman Emeritus Leonard Lauder, and discusses the importance of a great team.

Anna Bartle is a senior communications professional with over 20 years’ experience in consumer brands across a variety of industry sectors including beauty, fashion, FMCG, retail, automotive and technology, both in-house and agency-side.

Currently Vice President of Corporate Affairs for The Estée Lauder Companies UK and Ireland, Anna leads media relations, external stakeholder engagement, public affairs, internal corporate communications, and the Crisis & Issues practice. She is also co-lead on Sustainability Strategy and runs the region’s Corporate Responsibility programmes including key philanthropic initiatives such as The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign (‘BCC’), the region’s Children’s Literacy programme and the company’s commitment to Look Good Feel Better.

Anna sits on the Boards of CEW UK, Look Good Feel Better and the CTPA. Anna has been recognised in 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions of PR Week Powerbook, the definitive list of the UK’s 150 most influential PR professionals.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE NAMED A WALPOLE 2020 POWER LIST WINNER?

Making it on to the Walpole 2020 Power List means the world – to be counted amongst such an illustrious group is a great honour.

Why do you think you were named on the List this year?

Because of my team – they make me look good. One of Leonard Lauder’s pearls of wisdom is ‘Always hire people who are smarter than you’: “You can’t do everything so you have to hire surrogates – thoughtful, responsible people who enhance your knowledge, extend your reach and pump up your performance.” Every one of them embodies these qualities and I love working with them.

www.elcompanies.co.uk