Andrea Jung
Andrea Jung
Andrea Jung is a Canadian-American executive, non-profit leader, and prominent women's-issues supporter. In April, 2014, she became President and CEO of Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. Grameen is the fastest growing microfinance organization in the United States, providing the largest number of microfinance loans to individuals and small businesses. From 1999 until 2012, she served as the first female CEO and Chairwoman of Avon Products, Inc., a multi-level marketing company. Jung...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinesswoman
CountryUnited States of America
Women are clearly the major consumers in far more than just female categories. It doesn't matter whether it is purchases of cars, cosmetics, or even products for men, female consumption power is the leading consumption power in the world. Any company that overlooks the woman as the decision maker is making a huge mistake.
Follow your compass, not your clock.
Avon is a unique place to work; we've got family-friendly policies. We have more senior women in high-level management than any other company; 46 percent of our officers are women.
Women like myself, CEOs, can pave the way for more women to get to the top.
The game in beauty is changing so much, if your product isn't high tech or can't make a unique performance claim - plump your lips, reduce your lines, look glossy, and stay on for 24 hours - you can't go to market today. I'm not just talking about a $20 lipstick, but a $5 lipstick!
That was very much ahead of its time back in the 1880s and, not surprisingly, it was met with some resistance. [I]f you fast forward to today and the fact that we're the single largest source of employment for women (broadly speaking, as the reps are independent contractors), we've been an important creator of entrepreneurship for women.
I think there is a big and significant difference between being a leader and being a manager-leaders lead from the heart. You have to be analytical and flexible. Flexibility is one of the key ingredients to being successful. If you feel like it's difficult to change, you will probably have a harder time succeeding.
No one in my family had a retail or marketing background. They were professionals. They didn't understand just what I was doing by going into retailing. After I started, though, it got into my blood. I knew this was what I wanted.
Since I'm a mother and a wife, I have to have passion or the frustration would win out. But I love managing people. The product is second to managing the people. And marketing to consumers is so challenging because it is evolving constantly.
My parents kept the best aspects of the Asian culture, and they Americanized the family. My mother was a great example for me. She was a working mother with a good career.
We also never undercut representatives' prices. A representative will always be able to sell the discounts in our core business, which are not offered at retail. So it's never more advantageous to buy there.
My parents ingrained in me early on that the perfect score is always something to strive for. I want to win and I want to succeed no matter what.
I feel like I'm part of history being made. I leave Apple board meetings thinking, 'I've got to do a better job.'
You know, you go home and you try on a new mascara, and I guess a male CEO can't do that.