Bal Harbour

C O U R T E S Y O F K I N G A L A M P E R T omewhere between Europe and New York, while Eliana Lauder hurried to catch a ferry in Greece and Kinga Lampert prepared for another summer day abroad, the two women found themselves doing what they have done for years: finding each other across continents. Their friendship has always unfolded this way—in airport lounges, over Zoom coffees, in Greenwich cafés, in Aspen living rooms. "There is an invisible thread," Lampert says, "and we always find each other." The connection is personal, but it is also part of a larger continuum. Lampert, a former corporate lawyer who has devoted much of the past two decades to philanthropy, served for 12 years as co-chair of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Board and today remains deeply involved as chairwoman emerita. She learned much of what she knows about philanthropy from Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, whom she counted as close friends and mentors. Eliana, Evelyn and Leonard's granddaughter, represents another chapter. An investing professional at L Catterton, she recently completed graduate studies at Oxford, where she explored community and belonging as predictors for early-stage investing. On the side, she manages a small angel investing fund to support early-stage consumer goods and women's health founders. Increasingly, she is bringing that same curiosity and strategic thinking to BCRF, where she now serves as vice chair of the Advisory Board. One woman was mentored by Evelyn and Leonard themselves. The other grew up with their example woven into the fabric of family life. Now Lampert has become a mentor to Eliana, creating an unusually intimate bridge between BCRF's history and its future. What follows is a glimpse into our conversation about friendship, mentorship, memory, and what it means to inherit a mission without simply inheriting a mantle. S How a friendship between philanthropist Kinga Lampert and Eliana Lauder is carrying the Breast Cancer Research Foundation—and Evelyn Lauder's legacy—into a new generation. BY DEBORAH FRANK thread the Carrying the BCRF mission forward: Eliana Lauder and Kinga Lampert at the Hot Pink Party in 2023 Finding Each Other ELIANA LAUDER: There are very few people who knew my grandparents as well as Kinga did, and who also straddle the generations. To be able to take their lessons and bring them into the present day is something Kinga does so uniquely. She's such a conduit. I think it's part of why I want to update her on my love life as much as I want to update her on BCRF! KINGA LAMPERT: We met through our families' friendship first, before anything else was layered onto it. Then, after my breast cancer diagnosis in 2005, Evelyn entered my life as my angel. She took me under her wing and helped me with every decision. When I was back on my feet, she asked me to join the BCRF Board. I was 31 years old. I had practiced law and had a career, but I didn't know the first thing about philanthropy. Of course, I said yes. After Evelyn died in 2011, Leonard asked Lampert to chair the organization. Over lunch, she jokingly agreed on one condition: that he do it with her. "He reached his arm across the table and said, Done. We're co-chairs." the conversation 124 124 BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M

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