Avon Names Kimberly A. Ross Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

NEW YORK, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) today announced that it has named Kimberly A. Ross as Executive Vice President and  Chief Financial Officer, reporting to Andrea Jung, Avon's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Ross, age 46, is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Board of Royal Ahold N.V., a Netherlands-based international group with nearly US$40 billion in revenue and more than 2,970 stores and supermarkets spanning Europe and the United States.

Ms. Ross is expected to join Avon in the fall following a required notice period during which she will continue to serve as Royal Ahold's chief financial officer.  At Avon, she will succeed Charles Cramb who, as previously announced in February, continues to serve as interim chief financial officer in addition to his role as Vice Chairman of Avon's Developed Market Group.    

"We are very pleased to have attracted an experienced international financial executive of Kimberly's caliber," said Ms. Jung. "Her depth of expertise across all areas of finance, her capabilities as a strategic business partner, and her broad experience in developed and emerging markets will be significant assets as we continue to advance on our path to sustainable profitable growth."  

Ms. Ross joined Royal Ahold in 2001 and advanced through a series of successively responsible positions in treasury, tax and finance before her appointment as chief financial officer in 2007.  Her responsibilities have included driving business and financial performance as well as direct oversight of strategic business planning, risk management, accounting, tax, treasury, internal controls, investor relations and IT.

Before that, Ms. Ross served as Senior Manager in the Risk and Regulatory Practice Group of Ernst & Young Global Limited in New York in 2001.  From 1995 – 2001, she rose through a series of audit, treasury and corporate finance positions at Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Inc. where she focused on the emerging markets of Latin America and Asia Pacific.  She began her finance career at the Anchor Glass Container Corporation in 1992.  Ms. Ross earned her B.A. in Accounting from the University of South Florida.    

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with over $10 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through approximately 6.5 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.