Avon CEO Andrea Jung Takes Seat on Apple’s Board

Posted January 8th, 2008 by Susan Gunelius in Female Executives, Leadership

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) has named Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon (NYSE: AVP), as the eigth member of its board of directors. Andrea Jung is the first woman and the first Asian to hold a seat on Apple’s board. Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, stated that Jung will bring a “new dimension” to the company’s board. It’s actually hard to believe that a progressive company like Apple has taken so long to add a woman to its board of directors.

Andrea Jung was an executive vice president at Neiman-Marcus before she joined Avon in 1996. She became CEO of Avon in 1999, and in the past 9 years, she has helped to grow the company to achieve an annual revenue of $8.7 billion. Avon’s stock price was up 15% in 2007. Jung has been credited with turning the once ailing Avon around and has appeared on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for several years.

Andrea Jung should infuse some energy into the board which has been under fire for backdating company stock options. In fact, that’s how Jung got her position on the Apple board of directors. She’s taking over the seat formerly occupied by Apple’s former CFO, John Anderson, who resigned amidst a stock options backdating scandal.

Andrea Jung joins Steve Jobs, Al Gore, Intuit’s (NASDAQ: INTU) William Campbell, Genentech’s (NYSE: DNA) Arthur Levinson and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt on Apple’s board of directors.

What do you think of Apple’s choosing Andrea Jung for a seat on its board of directors? Are you surprised Apple hasn’t had a womon on its board before now?

3 Responses to “Avon CEO Andrea Jung Takes Seat on Apple’s Board”

Bridget on January 9, 2008 11:20 pm
I’m glad to see that a woman has been appointed to the Board. Very encouraging to ALL of us as businesswomen. Thanks for sharing this information, Susan!
DJ Nelson on January 12, 2008 8:16 pm
I’m not surprised but that’s great news. Hopefully others will follow suit.
Susan Gunelius on January 13, 2008 1:17 am
Bridget and DJ, I agree. Andrea Jung’s appointment to Apple’s Board of Directors is very encouraging. It’s inspirational to other businesswomen and hopefully, will set the stage for other companies to put a greater focus on diversifying their boards.

Thank you both for visiting Women On Business!