John Demsey, a past executive with The Estée Lauder Companies, is now the senior adviser of L Catterton.
 
While news of his appointment is yet to be announced, Demsey is reportedly listed on the investment firm’s site as a senior adviser.
 
Before joining L Catterton, Demsey served as executive group president and global brand president, overseeing a slew of its key brands, including MAC, Smashbox, Tom Ford Beauty and Clinique. He was asked to leave the business in 2022 after 17 years after he reportedly posted a meme on social media that contained a racial slur and pun about the Covid-19 pandemic. The Stanford University and NYU Stern School of Business alum served as president of Mac Cosmetics for seven years in 1998, foundational roles for The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. for seven years prior and Revlon, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others, before that for a decade.
 
Demsey’s non-compete provision would last through March 2024, per the Estée Lauder Companies’ annual report. While details of the deal are unclear, Demsey’s transition to L Catterton was reportedly approved by Estée Lauder.
 
This past April, L Catterton made a “significant growth capital investment” as Happi previously reported, into Dibs Beauty, the fast-growing color cosmetics brand, while terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
Launched in September 2021, Dibs Beauty reunited the co-founders of Tula Skincare—Ken Landis (also co-founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and tech entrepreneur Dan Reich with Austin-based entrepreneur Courtney Shields—and the former COO of ARod Corp., Jeff Lee.
 
L Catterton previously partnered with Tula in 2017 until its successful acquisition last year by Procter & Gamble.