1. Gail M. Guyton
Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, Middlesex TW2 5RW
0208 8938312 / 07886656707
gmguyton@aol.com
Learning & Development Director and Brand Manager with an extensive record of leadership, creativity,
innovation & getting the best out of people, always achieving consistent organisational growth. Key successes
include elevating the customer service experience, facilitating efficient succession planning, managing & accelerating
change, strengthening employee competencies, loyalty & adaptability to thrive in an ever changing commercial
environment. An expert in programme development, team building & management development, strategic
planning & change management, recruitment & performance management. Highly effective working
collaboratively, cross-functionally to achieve organisational goals, managing resources to obtain maximum
efficiency. Exceptional interpersonal, written & presentation skills build & sustain strong relationships with all levels
within an organisation.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ESTEE LAUDER COMPANIES:
EDUCATION DIRECTOR - 1999 - 2014
Directed & managed the learning & development strategy, programmes & activities for 3 brands: Estée Lauder, Tom
Ford Beauty, & Aerin Beauty, leading a team of 8 Education Managers to support & develop 1800 retail sales
consultants, 35 Field Executives as well as department heads & senior managers, managing a budget of £2
million. Reported directly to the VP/General Manager & was a member of the executive management team, involved
in all strategic & fiscal planning. Created, implemented & expanded the learning & development strategy &
programmes for the 3 brands, delivering consistent year on year retail & NOP growth.
 Programme Development
o Designed & introduced an Estée Lauder customer service protocol, resulting in elevated service
consistency as measured by seasonal mystery shopping results of +85% & which was recognised globally for
its success & adapted for the Tom Ford Beauty and Aerin brands.
o Nominated by UK President to serve on UK Regional Service Task Force to design a 2020 service strategy
to support all UK brands within the Estée Lauder Companies.
o Collaborated with Global Education Teams to develop new global initiatives & adapt global programmes &
tools to maximise relevancy for department store markets.
o Innovated development with the introduction of tailored coaching programmes & tools, to increase field
management coaching skills, delivering average retail increases of +15% following coaching.
o Introduced Cultural Diversity training for all 3 brands increasing new customer recruitment in flagship doors
by 15% & used as a platform for other brands within the UK Region.
o Developed & delivered the learning & development programme for the global launch of Tom Ford
Beauty in London, over achieving launch targets & achieving the 2 highest ranking counters globally after the
first year.
 Team Building & Management Development
o Created focused Induction Programmes for all 3 brands to accelerate new consultant development &
engagement & contributing to reduction of consultant turnover rate to 25% after first year.
o Introduced a Leaders of Excellence Mentoring Programme to recognise outstanding teams, develop
managers & expand induction resources, recognised by retail partners for innovation and retail growth.
o Directed & reviewed the induction programmes for all new employees involving exposure to all
departments & evaluating further development needs upon completion.
o Introduced & managed the creation of a monthly newsletter as a development tool to reinforce monthly
brand focuses, encourage cross department collaboration & recognise individual achievements.
o Facilitated succession planning with the creation & introduction of a Fast Track Management
Development Programme, reducing recruitment costs & increasing internal promotions with 40% of Field
Executives developed & promoted internally.
o Devised a Counter Manager Development Curriculum to increase competencies of retail managers to
develop their teams & strengthen ownership of brand objectives at store level.
o Introduced & managed a seasonal programme of mystery shopping to evaluate impact of education
initiatives, measure consistency of the service experience & recognise individual and team achievement,
delivering increased service scores every season.

2. o Delivered team-building seminars to all senior managers & field executives at annual conferences and
seasonal Regional meetings, as well as on-going one to one coaching to enhance communication &
employee engagement.
o Created & delivered Train the Trainer sessions to elevate competencies of Education Managers with 4
achieving further promotions within other brands.
 Strategic Planning and Change Management
o Supported Estée Lauder social media marketing strategy with the introduction of Digital Awareness
training to develop sales consultant confidence & ability to create a 360° customer experience.
o Collaborated with marketing team to maximise the Estée Lauder CRM strategy through education,
increasing consumer data capture rate from 40% to 80% in 14 months.
o Initiated, created & sourced technological implementation of consumer facing iPad assets to enhance
customer experience.
o Directed the expansion of the Estée Lauder makeup artistry strategy, including the introduction of in store
specialists & premier artists to support PR initiatives & high profile events in the UK & abroad with average
artist yearly productivity growth of +15%.
o Partnered with National Account Managers to customise intensification programmes for specific retail
partners.
o Achieved global recognition as the first market outside of the US to introduce Estée Lauder E-learning,
delivering an unprecedented 80% engagement rate through the addition of UK specific features.
o Appointed by UK President to head the Regional Internal Communications Task Force to review, analyse
& propose initiatives to Senior Management Team to improve internal communications for the UK Region.
o Consistently delivered year on year increased frequency & diversity of training activities within budget
& managing cost efficiencies.
 Recruitment and Performance Management
o Created a Select the Best Recruitment Programme for the Estée Lauder brand including initial screening, in
store experience as well as set interview questions to measure skill set matching brand needs.
o Devised a recruitment & selection process to support the launch of the Tom Ford Beauty brand in
the UK which became the model for other launch markets that followed globally.
o Collaborated with Human Resources to re-design annual assessment guidelines to be used by all Field
Managers for performance development meetings for all 3 brands, identifying specific performance measures
consistent with brand objectives & educational strategies.
o Introduced an Estée Lauder Certification & Top Performer Programme to establish performance
benchmarks for new starters as well as achievement levels for further development opportunities. After the first
year, 20% of sales consultants achieved Top Perfomer status & this has continued to grow year on year.
o Partnered with senior department heads to identify, develop and measure key behaviours, by position,
aligned with global High Touch Competencies programme.
LANCÔME COSMETICS (L’OREAL)
EDUCATION DIRECTOR - 1994 - 1999
Introduced, developed & directed a UK specific L & D strategy to establish luxury customer service standards,
develop service behaviours & accelerate retail growth, managing a team of six Regional Education Managers &
reporting into the General Manager as part of the Executive Team.
o Expanded training curriculum from one that was solely product focused into a diverse menu of service and
sales training, management development & coaching for results, contributing to consistent retail target
achievement, increased consultant productivity & reduction in staff turnover.
o Appointed to work as consultant for the Global Education Centre in Paris, working with senior L & D
Managers, to improve understanding of department store markets & develop service training strategies with
global relevance.
o Introduced and developed new interactive training tools that were utilised globally.
o Directed & organised annual consultant conferences for 1000 consultants.
BIOTHERM (L’OREAL)
BRAND MANAGER - 1992 - 1994
Managed the brand re-launch following a corporate evaluation of brand positioning & potential in the U.S. Managed a
team of Regional Sales Manager, Education Manager, Account Executive & Administrative Manager, reporting
directly to Corporate Senior Vice-President.
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3. o Conceived & directed the implementation of strategy for new brand position in test market, delivering
results exceeding first year retail plan & NOP target & providing foundation for re-launch of the brand in
national U.S. distribution.
o Developed stock & sales plan, marketing, media & education strategy & created all support materials.
o Negotiated space & location & support with test market retail partners.
o Presented brand strategy & results to Senior Management team of L'Oreal, including Global CEO.
BIOTHERM (L’OREAL)
NATIONAL TRAINING & SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR - 1989 - 1992
Managed and directed education and special events for the brand in national distribution, leading a team of six
Education Managers and one Special Events Manager, reporting into Vice President.
o Initiated and designed all education programmes and materials to drive retail sales growth.
o Collaborated with marketing, creative and international partners in France to create relevant GWP and
promotional offers and special events, including all supporting counter tools and collateral materials.
o Presented U.S. market initiatives at Global Conferences to share best practices and results.
BIOTHERM (L’OREAL)
REGIONAL EDUCATION MANAGER - 1985 - 1989
Managed and delivered the education strategy for the Biotherm range for the Western Region of the U.S.,
supporting 250 sales consultants, leading a team of 4 Account Co-ordinators and reporting into the Education Director.
EDUCATION
• Master of Science, Sociology - The London School of Economics, London, U.K.
• Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Arts - Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., U.S.A.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Oxford University Management Programme - Sponsored by Estée Lauder
• Coaching for Results - The Coaching Company
• Executive Charisma - Institute of Management Studies
• Negotiation - Institute of Management Studies
• The Art of Effective Communication and Adult Learning - Novations Group
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
• Cosmetic Executive Women
• The London School of Economics Alumni Association
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