NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products,
Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced the appointment of Cheryl Heinonen as Group Vice President, Global
Corporate Relations and Chief Communications Officer, effective
August 1.
Ms. Heinonen will report to Sheri
McCoy, Avon's Chief
Executive Officer. Her responsibilities will include Corporate
& Employee Communications, Public Relations, Representative
Communications, and Corporate Social Responsibility.
"As we work to stabilize, turn around and, ultimately, grow
Avon, our ability to communicate
effectively, both internally and externally, is critical.
Cheryl's strong leadership is a welcome addition to my management
team," said Ms. McCoy. "Her experience in women's economic issues
in our key markets will also bring a fresh perspective to this
critical aspect of building our business."
Ms. Heinonen has extensive experience in managing corporate
reputation for large, global consumer brands. Most recently, she
has served as a Managing Director at Burson-Marsteller, a leading
global public relations and communications firm. In this role, she
has served as a trusted advisor on communications and reputation
management to some of the world's top consumer brands. Her
areas of focus include reputation management, CSR, organizational
communications, consumer branding, and international public
affairs.
Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Ms. Heinonen spent the
majority of her career at Visa, where she worked from 1997 to
2008. In her final role as senior vice president of global
corporate relations, she managed all communications programs for
Visa International through its three-year corporate restructuring
and IPO. She established the company's internal and external
digital communications strategy, global reputation management
programs and integrated global CSR program. Ms. Heinonen also
managed communications for the first major re-brand for Visa in the
company's history and led public relations for its global sports
sponsorship portfolio.
Ms. Heinonen has extensive involvement with the global women's
economic development agenda, having worked with corporations,
foundations, and NGOs in this field since 2004.
Avon, the company for women, is
a leading global beauty company, with over $11 billion in annual revenue. As the world's
largest direct seller, Avon
markets to women in more than 100 countries through over 6 million
active independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty products,
as well as fashion and home products, and features such
well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, ANEW,
Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, and
mark. Learn more about Avon
and its products at www.avoncompany.com.
SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.