Avon CEO Visits Tuck

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—November 28, 2003

CONTACT: Kim Keating-603-646-2733

HANOVER, N.H.—"Ding dong, Avon is calling on Tuck," joked Andrea Jung, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Avon Products Inc., in her remarks to an audience of MBA students at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth on November 18. Jung visited the school as part of the Tuck Leadership Forum, a component of Tuck's curriculum for first-year MBA students.

Jung talked about the responsibilities of leaders in changing times, diversity, and the role of women in business. She is certainly qualified to discuss these issues. In 1994 Jung joined Avon, a 117 year-old cosmetics company founded by David McConnell, an encyclopedia salesman with a vision of economic independence for women. Jung worked in the company's top marketing positions and was later promoted to president and chief operating officer before becoming CEO. With annual sales revenues of nearly 6 billion U.S. dollars, Avon is known as "the company for women."

Jung described the challenges she faced as she set out to rebuild the organization into a company that does much more than sell lipstick door-to-door. Her plans to make a new Avon that could move into an e-tailing future required reinventing many factors of the business-such as value chain, marketing, distribution, and the employee training and compensation structure-while holding steadfastly to the company's original values and vision.

"There is a need for a new generation of leaders who have the skill set required to manage business in this tumultuous economy," she said.

Jung believes that the most important leadership qualities today are passion for your work, compassion for those around you, and humility. She also recommends trusting your instincts. "Follow your compass and not the clock," she emphasized.

Jung is proud to be part of a company recognized as a leader in corporate diversity, with more women in management positions (86 percent) than any other Fortune 500 company. Half of the company's board of directors are female. Women have been selling Avon since 1886. A factor that makes Avon unique is the company's now-famous direct-selling method, with 3.9 million independent sales representatives worldwide.

When asked about her personal work/life balance, Jung commented, "Some days my family wins and some days the company wins." She recently passed up the opportunity to visit President Bush at the White House because her daughter had an important event at school. Jung plays classical piano for stress relief and catches up on her reading during international flights.

Jung's visit, which took place in Dartmouth's Cook Auditorium, is part of Tuck's leadership speaker series, designed to showcase international business leaders who have dramatically influenced their industries. John Morgridge, chairman of Cisco, will visit Tuck on January 13, 2004, as part of the series.

Founded in 1900, Tuck is the first graduate school of management and consistently ranks among the top business schools worldwide. Information about the Tuck School is available at www.tuck.dartmouth.edu.