Hon. Ronald S. Lauder

Dedicated to long-term, free market investment in Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries as they emerge from communism, Mr. Lauder is Chairman and primary stockholder of Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., investing in and operating broadcast television in Eastern and Central Europe. The firm is now a leading television broadcaster with stations reaching 95 million people in seven countries.

Mr. Lauder’s broad background includes extensive experience in European affairs. He was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Austria in April of 1986. Upon his return from Vienna in 1987, he established The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation which focuses on Jewish education and community outreach programs supporting Jewish schools, camps and community centers in Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine.

To build better understanding between people and cultures, Mr. Lauder in 1987 created an International Student Exchange Program. First centered on high school students in New York City and Vienna, the program has grown to include students from Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, St. Petersburg, Berlin and Sofia.

A patron of the arts and noted collector himself, Mr. Lauder serves as Chairman of The Museum of Modern Art, and as a member of the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Visiting Committee of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

In November, 2001, Mr. Lauder opened The Neue Galerie Museum for German and Austrian Art, the latest addition to New York’s museum mile on Upper Fifth Avenue.

The son of Estee Lauder and the late Joseph Lauder, founders of Estee Lauder, Inc., Mr. Lauder was born on February 26, 1944. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and holds a Bachelors degree in International Business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He studied at the University of Paris, and received a Certificate in International Business from the University of Brussels.

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