People In Brief
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Avon president moves on: After a "highly successful," five-year career with Avon, Elizabeth Smith is leaving the company, effective Oct. 30, in pursuit of a chief executive officer position. Smith came to "the company for women" as executive VP and brand president in January 2005, and seven months later took control of Avon's North American business. She has been president of the firm since September 2007, overseeing its Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain and IT divisions and playing "an instrumental role in repositioning the business for long-term sustainable growth," according to Sept. 17 release. Avon announced in July that with its ongoing efforts the company remains on track to achieve roughly $200 million in annualized savings by 2012-2013 (1"The Rose Sheet" July 27, 2009, In Brief). "Over the past five years, Liz has partnered closely with me as we have executed the company's turnaround plan," says CEO Andrea Jung. "Most recently as president, she has successfully driven the global integration of our key business processes and technology, helping us develop the requisite infrastructure and wiring to capitalize on our global size and scale." Smith's units now report to Jung
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