Gail M. Guyton has over 30 years of experience leading learning and development strategies for beauty brands such as Estée Lauder, Tom Ford Beauty, Aerin Beauty, and Lancôme. She has a proven track record of developing programs that elevate customer service, strengthen employee competencies, and achieve organizational growth. Currently serving as Learning & Development Director and Brand Manager, Gail is an expert in areas such as program development, team building, management development, and change management.

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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