Business Sweet

Estée Lauder executive Jane Hertzmark Hudis brings a sleek, curatorial eye to her penthouse apartment on New York’s Upper East Side.

- Jessica Matlin

To understand Jane Hertzmark Hudis, all you need to do is take a peek inside her fridge. In the glow of her Sub-Zero sit rows of Saratoga Spring Water (labels facing forward), racks of champagne, Ladurée macarons, and neatly stacked Iittala glass cubes filled with fresh-cut fruit, all arranged like a De Stijl painting. The onetime art history student is all about aesthetics — her home is bursting with modern art — but she’s equally obsessed with rigour. “I’m very disciplined,” she says, smiling. She has to be: the self-described brand-builder runs Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Aerin, Darphin, Aveda, La Mer, Bumble and bumble and Origins. Here’s how she gets it done.