Avon Products, Inc. announced Fred Hassan has resigned from the Avon board of directors in order to focus more time on his other professional commitments. Hassan serves as a non-executive chairman of Bausch + Lomb and is a managing director, partner at Warburg Pincus LLC. He also serves on the board of Time Warner, Inc.
Doug Conant, who currently serves on the Avon board, has been elected to the position of non-executive chairman. Both are effective immediately.
"Avon is a great company, and I am honored to have served on the board of directors," said Hassan. "However, my other professional commitments have intensified, requiring more focus. So I have decided it is in the best interest of Avon for one of my board colleagues to take on the chairmanship."
"On behalf of the Avon board, I thank Fred for his loyal and dedicated service," said Conant. "I look forward to taking on the role of chairman and, together with Sheri and my board colleagues, continuing our work of improving the company's performance."
"Fred has been a good partner to me as I transitioned into my role as CEO of Avon and I thank him for his support. On behalf of Avon's associates, we wish him success," said Sheri McCoy, CEO of Avon. "I welcome Doug to his new role and look forward to working closely with him as we continue to make progress in Avon's turnaround."
Conant served as president and CEO and as a member of the board of the Campbell Soup Company from January 2001 to July 2011. Previously he served as president of Nabisco Foods Company from 1995 to 2000, having joined Nabisco in 1992 and served as president of sales; senior vice president, marketing for The Nabisco Biscuit Company; and vice president/general manager of the Fleischmann's Company. Conant is founder and currently serves as the CEO of ConantLeadership, a company dedicated to improving the quality of leadership in the 21st century. He serves on the board of AmericsourceBergen Corporation.
The board also appointed Kimberly Ross, CFO of Avon, to the board, effective May 2, 2013. This action was taken in order to maintain the minimum number of directors required by Avon's by-laws. It is the board's intent that Ross will step down once a new independent director has been appointed. An independent director search is currently underway.
