Jeanette Wagner interview, 1993 August 26, 1993 August 26

Digital and written notes indicate that this interview was originally part of a larger recording that includes the James Preston, Jeanette Wagner, and Lawrence Aiken interviews (legacy audio object ID AOH180 and AOH180a), however the recordings only have the interview of Lawrence Aiken.

Jeanette Wagner studied at North Western in the late 1940s. She became a journalist and landed a position at the Hearst Corporation. Her job was to run the international division of the Corp. and starting all of their international magazines. She joined Estée Lauder in 1975.



Biography/current activities: Vice Chairman Emerita of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner’s career has spanned marketing and general management on both domestic and international fronts. She retired from The Estee Lauder Companies in January 2002. Prior to joining Estee Lauder in 1975, Mrs. Wagner held increasingly responsible editorial and management positions with The Hearst Corporation, including Editor-in-Chief of all International Editions, which she founded, and Director of New Ventures. She was the first female senior editor of The Saturday Evening Post, and an editor at The Chicago Daily News.



"Mrs. Wagner is an active worker on improving public school education in New York City and served as Secretary of the Board of the Fund for Public Schools through Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s term in office. The Mayor of New York City appointed her to the Boards of the Department of Cultural Affairs and New York City Center. Her many honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from American Women for Economic Development and the “Women Who Inspire Us” honor from the Harvard Business School Network of Women Alumnae."

Estelle Ellis was born on November 12, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Hunter College in 1940, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Journalism, Ellis began a career in publishing. Ellis was crucial in the founding of Seventeen magazine in 1943, assisting Helen Valentine with design and advertising for the magazine. In 1958, Ellis founded Business Image, Incorporated, a creative marketing firm that stressed the importance of market and product positioning. Her company worked primarily with Condé Nast publications but other businesses, such as Yves Saint-Laurent Fragrances, Evan-Picone, AT&T, and Scoville, hired Business Image as well.



Beginning in the mid-1960s, Ellis began working with the Fashion Institute of Technology, creating programs and fundraising campaigns to help with financial support. During the 1990s, Ellis focused on writing, co-authoring At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries (1995), At Home with Art: How Art Lovers Live With and Care for Their Treasures (1999), and The Booklover's Repair Kit: First Aid for Home Libraries (2000). Estelle Ellis passed away on July 12, 2012.

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