Accomplished Chinese American

Andrea Jung 
Year of Birth: 1959 
Place of Birth: Toronto, Canada 
Year came to United States: 1969 
Occupation: CEO of Avon Products, Inc. 

	When Chinese American Andrea Jung was appointed President and CEO of Avon Products, Inc. in November, 1999, Avon became the second-largest U.S. firm to be headed by a woman, and the largest U.S. company ever to be headed by an Asian American woman. As a CEO of  the world's leading direct seller of mass-market beauty products, Jung oversees director sales of Avon products in 131 counties, advises 440,000 Avon sales representatives in the United States and nearly two million additional reps in the other countries. Each year, Avon prints 600 million sales brochures in more than 12 languages. Consumers can also buy Avon products via the Internet. In 1998, Fortune magazine named Jung among the "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business".  She also sits on the board of General Electric.  

	Andrea Jung gained her marketing wiz reputation through years of experience in the retails. Born to first generation Chinese immigrants in Toronto, Canada, Andrea Jung moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts when she was 10 years old. Fluent in both English and Chinese, she was an exceptional student. Recalling her upbringing, Jung described it as "a traditional humble Asian environment,...there was focus on achievement and education, but fame was a negative." Jung attended Princeton University in New Jersey, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in English literature. After briefly considering a career in law or music, she settled on retail marketing. She took a job at Bloomingdale's and later was hired by I. Magnin in San Francisco, where she rose to the rank of senior vice president and general merchandise manager. Next, she moved to Dallas, Texas, to accept the executive vice presidency at Neiman Marcus, where she was responsible for women's clothing, accessories, cosmetics, lingerie, and children's wear. 

	After more than 10 years in three upscale department stores, in 1993 Jung became a consultant for Avon. She was put in charge of updating the product line and changing the company's downscale image. In January 1994, after working as a consultant for six months, Jung joined Avon full-time as president of the product marketing group for the U.S. Her positive, friendly management style was welcomed by the staff, and she became known as a skilled motivator.  

	One of the early accomplishments that Jung did in Avon was changing the dowdy image of the "Avon Lady". She launched the "Just Another Avon Lady" campaign in the winter of 1995, which aimed to redefine the products as well as the sales force. The campaign included Olympic athletes Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Becky Dyroen-Lancer, and was related with Avon's numerous marketing efforts during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was the official fragrance and cosmetics sponsor of the games, and also sponsored The Olympic Woman, a multimedia exhibition in Atlanta spotlighting women athletes. The next year, 1997, Jung launched the "Dare to Change Your Mind About Avon" ad campaign.  She also promoted another Avon grassroots effort, aimed at increasing breast cancer awareness; the company raised $25 million to support that program. 

	In June 1996, Jung was promoted to president of global marketing. Also in 1996, Brandweek named her "Marketer of the Year" in the health-and beauty category. It was her second honor from that magazine; the year before, its editors had included Jung on their list of marketers to watch. 1n March 1997, Jung was made one of the executive vice presidents of the company, and her responsibilities were expanded to encompass new business development, market surveys, strategic planing, and joint ventures and alliances, such as Avon's Discovery Toys subsidiary. Since Jung joined the company, sales have rocketed by 30 percent, profits by more that 40 percent, and stock prices by 150 percent. It was generally agreed within the company and by outsiders that in large part the gains had resulted directly from her marketing tactics.  

	Jung's promotion to President and CEO in 1999 made her part of a two-CEO family: her husband, Michael Gould, is the chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale's. Jung referred to their two children in a letter to the New York Times that she wrote in response to a Times (July 25, 1999) article about female chief executives. The article read: "Women may be shattering the glass ceiling, but most of those next in line are doing it without young children in tow." In Jung's letter, published in Times' August 22, 1999 edition, Jung wrote that her 10-year-old daughter had noticed Jung's name in the article. "The speculation about whether or not her mother becomes on of the next chief executives was irrelevant," she declared. "I shuddered, however, at the slightest suggestion, now planted in the mind of a young girl, that she and her toddler brother could be the very reasons that her own role model might not become all that she hopes to be. I also winced at the phrase ‘in tow,' praying that its negative connotation of anything like ‘baggage' would be lost in child's translation and not taint a pure and healthy idealism." She noted that "woman, including mothers of young children, are breaking through every aspect of American life," and "in the near term," everything is not only "possible," but "probable."