NEW YORK (AP) -- Makeup and skin care company The Estee Lauder Cos. on Thursday named Ralph Lauren Corp. executive Tracey Travis as its chief financial officer.
She will join the New York company on Aug. 20. Estee Lauder had been seeking a CFO for nearly a year since Richard Kunes said last August he planned to retire after serving in that role for 12 years. He plans to stay at the company during a transition period as a special adviser working on projects.
Travis, 50, is senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer of Ralph Lauren Corp. Before that, she was CFO of Limited Brands Inc. and spent 10 years at PepsiCo in a variety of roles.
The move had been foretold by Citi Investment Research analyst Wendy Nicholson on Wednesday, when she wrote in a note that Travis would be a good fit for the role at Estee Lauder.
On Thursday, she said in a separate note that, "We find it both interesting and encouraging that Travis would come to Estee Lauder from Ralph Lauren, as both companies are very much family-owned and family-influenced businesses."
But Nicholson noted that Estee Lauder is facing challenges as well, since it just lost its head of China, Carol Shen, to Gucci.
The analyst lowered her share target price on the company to $59 from $65 due to the stronger U.S. dollar and uncertainty about worry about weak consumer spending around the globe but kept her "Neutral" rating on the stock.
Shares rose $1.07, or 2 percent, to $53.66 during morning trading. That's near the middle of the stock's 52-week trading range. It peaked at $65.60 on April 27.
