LONDON,
June 20, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today
announced the appointment of Jonathan
Myers as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer, effective September 1. This
completes the series of planned executive leadership changes that
have been taking place in recent months, as Avon ensures it has the leadership team in
place to accelerate the next chapter of the transformation journey
to sustainable profitable growth. Jonathan will be
responsible for ensuring Avon's
Representatives have a seamless and competitive experience, with
consumer relevant products, tools that make it easy to do
business, and outstanding service. He will assume
leadership of Avon's Brand
Marketing and Product Research & Development, Digital,
Information Technology and Global Supply Chain.
Jonathan will report directly to Avon's Chief Executive Officer, Sheri McCoy, and he will be based at
Avon's headquarters in
London.
Jonathan brings to Avon
significant operational and management experience in global
markets, including emerging markets. He has expertise in
executing growth strategies, integrating teams and managing a
complex and diverse range of customers and channels. At both
Kellogg and Procter & Gamble, he led major brand and product
programs to drive innovation, while pioneering ecommerce
capabilities in China and the UK
to increase awareness and trial of new products and categories.
He also oversaw the rapid expansion of manufacturing capacity
to support business growth in China, alongside implementing new supply and
demand forecasting across different businesses and markets
globally.
Most recently, Jonathan served as Kellogg's Vice
President, Western European Markets, and Managing Director, UK and
Ireland, where he successfully
built the business and strengthened the organization, including
delivering accelerated sales growth on the acquired Pringles
business. Prior to Kellogg, Jonathan had a successful 20-year
career at Procter & Gamble, serving in various leadership
roles, including General Manager, Oral Care and Feminine Care,
China, where he significantly grew
market share. Earlier in his career at P&G, Jonathan had
extensive experience working on a range of Beauty Care
businesses. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Arts and
Masters in History at St. John's
College, Cambridge
University.
Building out the leadership team to execute Avon's three year strategic growth plan
represents the achievement of an important part of the
transformation journey. During 2016, Avon created the platform for the future
growth of the business. It entered into a strategic partnership
with affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. that involved
a $435 million investment in
Avon and separation of
Avon's North America business into a privately-held
company, majority-owned and managed by Cerberus. It also
reduced balance sheet leverage, extended the maturity of the debt
portfolio, and achieved $180 million
of annualized savings. In 2017, the Company moved the corporate
headquarters to the UK, and the growth plans have been refined and
the key enablers to drive change are being put in place.
The company has been making broad-based changes to its
leadership team and last week announced the appointment of
Miguel Fernandez as Global President
responsible for Commercial Business Operations, who will join from
Herbalife where he was Executive Vice President and Managing
Director for the Americas and Worldwide Member Operations. In
addition, the company recently announced the appointment of
James Thompson who will join as
Avon's General Counsel and Chief
Ethics & Compliance Officer, having previously served as
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary to Chiquita
Brands International, Inc. In January, Jamie Wilson joined as Chief Financial Officer,
having previously held the position of Chief Finance Officer of
SABMiller.
Chan Galbato, Chairman of
Avon, commented, "Our Board and
management team, under Sheri McCoy's
leadership, are committed to the turnaround of Avon's business and are continuing to ensure
the business executes on its strategic plan to create consistent,
sustainable and profitable growth. This latest appointment
completes the executive team required to take Avon onto the next stage of the
journey."
Sheri McCoy, Chief
Executive Officer of Avon said,
"Jonathan's appointment and the other executive leadership
appointments we have recently announced ensure we have the strong,
seasoned leadership team in place to drive and accelerate the pace
of change in the next chapter of our journey to profitable growth.
During 2016, we established the basis for our transformation,
separating the North American business, strengthening our balance
sheet and driving out cost. In 2017, we've refined our growth
roadmap and put in place the enablers to drive the necessary
changes to achieve our stated long-term financial
goals."
Jonathan Myers commented,
"I am delighted to be joining Avon
at such a critical time in the Company's transformation. With a
130-year history, the largest global representative network and
leadership positions across a number of key markets and categories,
Avon is positioned as one of the
world's premier beauty brands. I look forward to working alongside
Sheri and the new Avon leadership
team to deliver sustainable growth by expanding our network,
digitizing our operations and leveraging our dynamic portfolio of
market-leading products."
Fernando J. Acosta,
Avon's Executive Vice President
and Chief Marketing and Social Selling Officer, has decided not to
relocate to the UK and will therefore be leaving the Company,
November 1st 2017. Fernando joined
Avon in 2011 as Senior Vice
President and President Latin America, responsible for driving
sales and profit in the region. Throughout his tenure, Fernando has
made significant contributions to the business, including the
development and launch of the new Beauty for a Purpose positioning
that has helped increase word of mouth, offline and online;
enhancing Avon's innovation
program; and developing the Company's approach to digital social
selling to connect Representatives with consumers.
James S. Scully,
Avon's current Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer, will be leaving
the Company October 1st
2017, following his previously announced decision not to relocate
to London. Since joining in 2015,
Jim has been instrumental in navigating the Company through a
series of transactions, in refinancing its debt, extending its debt
maturity profile and strengthening its balance sheet, while helping
define Avon's Transformation
Plan.
McCoy added, "I know I speak for the entire Avon management team and the Board in
expressing our sincere appreciation to both Jim and Fernando for
their dedication and service to Avon. We are extremely grateful for their
leadership and contributions to the Company's strategic vision and
transformation initiatives, and wish them both all the
best."
Contact:
MEDIA:
Brunswick Group
Mathilde
Milch
(212) 297-3004
About Avon Products, Inc.
Avon is the Company that
for 130 years has proudly stood for beauty, innovation, optimism
and, above all, women. Avon
products include well-recognized and beloved brands such as ANEW,
Avon Color, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques sold
through nearly 6 million active independent Avon Sales
Representatives.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including turnaround of
the Company's business, achieving its stated long-term financial
goals, the execution of its strategic plan to create consistent,
sustainable and profitable growth, and its planned executive
changes. Because forward-looking statements inherently
involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive
uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in
Avon's markets as well as the
other risks detailed in Avon's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any
statements in this press release for changes that happen after the
date of this release.
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SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.