Avon chief elected to Apple's board of directors

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple said Monday that Andrea Jung, chairman and chief executive officer of woman's beauty firm Avon Products, has joined the company's board, bringing its total number of directors to eight.



Jung also serves on the board of directors of the General Electric Company and is a member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital board of trustees and the Catalyst board of directors.



"Andrea is a strong CEO and marketer and we look forward to benefiting from her insights and experience as a member of Apple’s board," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Andrea will be our eighth board member, and I think she will add a new dimension to our already lively board discussions."



At Avon, Jung is responsible for developing and executing all of the company’s long-term growth strategies, launching new brand initiatives, developing earnings opportunities for women worldwide, and defining Avon as the premier direct seller of beauty products.



She was elected president of global marketing in 1996, an executive vice president in 1997, president and a director of the company in 1998, chief operating officer from 1998 to 1999, chief executive officer in 1999 and chairman of the board in 2001. Previously, Jung was executive vice president of Neiman Marcus and a senior vice president for I. Magnin.



"Apple is clearly one of the most innovative companies in the world today," Jung said. "I feel privileged to join this exciting and dynamic team and look forward to working closely with Steve and the board during the next phase of Apple’s growth."



Jung is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University, is fluent in Mandarin and was the first woman elected chair of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association in March 2001, a role she held until early 2005.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Jung also serves on the board of directors of the General Electric Company



    GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.



    Do I smell a plan?
  • Reply 2 of 25
    i was about to say that .........



    Steves pulling something here !!!!!



    (dam slow log in cost me my first first anti whoot)
  • Reply 3 of 25
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.



    Do I smell a plan?



    It could be more like pink iPods sold out of the Avon catalogue.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.



    Do I smell a plan?



    You may have something here.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.



    Do I smell a plan?



    Next AI story: Apple replaces cash wraps with makeup counters!
  • Reply 6 of 25
    She is a very talented manager. And, rightly or wrongly, Apple has been criticized in the media and by organizations such as Catalyst Inc. for not having a woman on its board. (Although, on the topic of latter, Carol Bartz may have not been a bad choice).
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Jung has been on Apple's board for several years. No conspiracy.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    8 is too many. I read somewhere there is an optimal sized group for design/strategy type activities are it was less.
  • Reply 9 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Jung has been on Apple's board for several years. No conspiracy.



    Huh? Are you sure? Perhaps you can point to a link with that info....?
  • Reply 10 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    8 is too many. I read somewhere there is an optimal sized group for design/strategy type activities are it was less.



    8 is not too many -- actually, it is a tad on the low side for a company the size of Apple ($150+ billion in mkt cap).



    The average board size in a Fortune 1000 company in the US is 11 (typically 2 insiders and 9 outsiders).
  • Reply 11 of 25
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    You guys can argue all you want about board sizes and such, like you are in a position to make a difference, I will sit back and simply enjoy the fact that our new Apple hardware will smell that much better.





    On a more serious side I'd like to see Apple place a younger person on the board. Someone hip to modern trends and usages.



    Dave
  • Reply 12 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    You guys can argue all you want about board sizes and such, like you are in a position to make a difference, I will sit back and simply enjoy the fact that our new Apple hardware will smell that much better.





    On a more serious side I'd like to see Apple place a younger person on the board. Someone hip to modern trends and usages.



    Dave



    No offense to young people, they tend to take a lot of uncalculated risk. It would not be a good idea for attracting investors, especially right now when Apple's stock price is down.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    She is a very talented manager. And, rightly or wrongly, Apple has been criticized in the media and by organizations such as Catalyst Inc. for not having a woman on its board. (Although, on the topic of latter, Carol Bartz may have not been a bad choice).



    she is very talented and a very good marketer. (http://goldsea.com/WW/Jungandrea/jungandrea.html) this is a 1999 interview with Andrea Jung. She talks about her career from birth in Canada to going to Princeton and arriving at Avon.



    Steve might be planning to back door on NBC..
  • Reply 14 of 25
    And didn't she write "Fear of Flying", too?
  • Reply 15 of 25
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post




    Steve might be planning to back door on NBC..



    Or have the Mac faithful sell Apple products to our friends and family through a small catalog and software demos.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.



    Do I smell a plan?



    AppleTV smellovision
  • Reply 17 of 25
    According to Wikipedia she's also fluent in Mandarin Chinese … just when Apple are making their first steps in China as a market instead of just a place of manufacture.



    As for the studios: even if Apple were the market cap of them all combined (Apple are already bigger than every single one of them) I doubt any purchases or inside coups would be on the cards. Simply put: Apple are the end of the record industry, as well as its last saviour! Movies … we'll see in due course.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by halhiker View Post


    And didn't she write "Fear of Flying", too?



    Andrea Jung.... Erica Jong..... whatever........

  • Reply 19 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple said Monday that Andrea Jung, chairman and chief executive officer of woman's beauty firm Avon Products, has joined the company's board, bringing its total number of directors to eight.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Jung has been on Apple's board for several years. No conspiracy.



    Did you even read the article?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    8 is too many. I read somewhere there is an optimal sized group for design/strategy type activities are it was less.



    4-5 people is the optimal number for a work group however, the Board of Directors isn't really a working group. They don't really do anything other than have meetings, talk and vote.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    Or have the Mac faithful sell Apple products to our friends and family through a small catalog and software demos.



    That sounds like a strategy for DELL.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fuyutsuki View Post


    According to Wikipedia she's also fluent in Mandarin Chinese ? just when Apple are making their first steps in China as a market instead of just a place of manufacture.



    Apple really needs to focus more on emerging markets and develop some lower cost computers that would be affordable there. BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India, China will contain39% of the worlds population by 2050.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fuyutsuki View Post


    As for the studios: even if Apple were the market cap of them all combined (Apple are already bigger than every single one of them) I doubt any purchases or inside coups would be on the cards. Simply put: Apple are the end of the record industry, as well as its last saviour! Movies ? we'll see in due course.



    I don't think anyone was implying that Apple was going to buy NBC Universal, but rather use Jung to influence the board to be more favorable of digital distribution.
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