Alexandra Trower is the Executive Vice President of Global Communications at The Estée Lauder Companies and leads corporate, social, crisis, philanthropic and Lauder family communications.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
“Character is Character” – from my first boss, wonderful friend and mentor, the great Penny Zuckerwise.
WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL?
Be friends with everyone – I went to public high school in SW Virginia — my best friend was the homecoming queen but I would never have passed driver’s ed without my chewing tobacco driver’s ed partner and good friend who taught me how to parallel park.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST PET PEEVE?
Loud and bad gum chewing or public nail clipping. These are the worst!
WHAT DO YOU WEAR THAT MAKES YOU FEEL STRONG?
Tennis clothes.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WITH A BROKEN HEART?
Cry, cry cry…candy candy candy…time time time. And DON’T look at Instagram!
WHAT IS ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?
Fifteen books I am waiting to read, three jars of La Mer moisturizers and Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair. I am like Winnie the Pooh – I use our products the same way Pooh used his big paw to get into the honey pot.
WHAT GIVES YOU GOOSE BUMPS?
Babies.
WHAT IS YOUR BAD DAY BACKUP PLAN?
A call with a best friend. Red wine. Pizza. Candy. Repeat. All in the bathtub where I can hide under my huge Jo Malone bubbles.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
Delivering your best with kindness and integrity.
BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?
“Wait a beat.” Meaning—wait for a minute before you respond and take a second to breathe and think – this has saved me so many times!
WHAT MAKES YOU FORGET TO EAT?
Nothing!
WHAT DID YOUR 8 YEAR-OLD SELF LOVE DOING?
Pretending to be Laurie Partridge, singing Partridge family songs and being David Cassidy’s girlfriend.
WHAT 3 THINGS WOULD YOU GRAB IN A FIRE?
My husband (Jon), my daughter (Grace), and my dog (Moxie).
FAVORITE WORD?
Pulchritude: it means physical beauty – like in the Rubens painting sense – it is my favorite SAT word.
FAVORITE WORK OF ART?
Any of Kate Cordsen’s amazing photographs.
FAVORITE BOOK?
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DeBose Heyward. She was the first female Easter bunny, had 13 children and beat out all those big jack rabbits to be the star Easter bunny. She totally rocks!
WHAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR PARENTS ABOUT YOU?
That actually I am kind of shy.
WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON?
Mary Richards played by Mary Tyler Moore. And this is even after I accidentally knocked her down in an aerobics class in the 1980s – I am a bit dyslexic and I went right when everyone else was going left. She was so gracious and nice. I felt like such a total dope.
IF YOU WERE A SINGER, WHAT WOULD BE THE NAME OF YOUR FIRST ALBUM?
I would be a country western singer, sister of Miranda Lambert and we’d sing duets and win best album of the year – album title “I Tell You True.”
BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
Two Madame Alexander baby dolls, plus a pair of big green plastic earrings when I was 6 years old from childhood crush Burns Macdonald. He set a very high bar!
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