Esther Lee

Esther Lee is MetLife's Global Chief Marketing Officer and is a member of the company's executive team. Lee joined MetLife in 2015 and is responsible for managing all aspects of global marketing, the global brand and the customer journey. Lee and her team lead a strategic, customer-focused marketing practice across the globe that drives business growth.

Prior to joining MetLife, Lee was Senior Vice President for Brand, Marketing, Advertising and Sponsorships at AT&T. In that role, she oversaw global brand marketing, advertising, media and sponsorship, as well as the integration of brand leadership into the company's business strategies. Through the ongoing rollout of the company's "Rethink Possible" brand platform, Lee led the strategy to create awareness of AT&T's commitment to innovation to allow people to do more, explore more, and live more expansively.

Before joining AT&T, Lee served as Chief Executive Officer of North America and President of Global Brands for Euro RSCG Worldwide, where her work focused on transforming the company's creativity and vision for long-term growth. Prior to that, she served for five years as Global Chief Creative Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, where she drove creative strategy, the development of integrated campaigns for the company's global brands, and the operating models to support these efforts. Most notably, she drove the creation, development and launch of the "Coke Side of Life" global campaign—the foundation for today's "Open Happiness" campaign.

Other previous tenures include several leadership positions at advertising agencies from large global networks to small entrepreneurial hot shops, including DiNoto Lee, the shop she co-founded. She worked with many of the world's top marketing companies, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, Citibank, CNN and IKEA.

Lee's contributions to the industry have been recognized with leadership awards from AWNY, AAF, NAAAP, Asian Women in Business, and the Asia Brand Congress for her achievements in the field of business and brand building. In 2012, Lee was named to the "Power Players" category of the Advertising Age list of "100 Most Influential Women," and the Advertising Club of New York honored her as an "Advertising Person of the Year."

Lee is a regular speaker at conferences and events, including The ANA Annual Conference, The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Ad Age Digital Conference, C2MTL, Hatch, Festival of Media, Ibero-American Advertising Festival and the Asia Brand Congress. She also serves as a board member of the Clorox Company.

Lee is a graduate of Cornell University, an avid skier and kick-boxer, and a burgeoning equestrian, art collector and Formula One fan.