Avon Appoints Chief Financial Officer to continue Avon's transformation

PRNewswire 13-Dec-2018 6:55 AM

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) ("the Company"), a globally recognized leader in direct selling of beauty and related products, today announced that Gustavo Arnal has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective during Spring 2019.   Gustavo will report directly to Jan Zijderveld, Avon's Chief Executive Officer as a member of the Executive Committee. Jamie Wilson, Avon's current Chief Financial Officer, has chosen to step down from his full time executive role and will be pursuing a range of professional business opportunities in the next stage of his career.

Gustavo Arnal is a seasoned global operating executive with over 25 years of experience working in strategy, operations and finance positions for consumer goods and retail businesses.  Gustavo joins from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), where he has served as Senior Vice President, CFO of International Divisions and Global Functions. 

Prior to WBA, Mr. Arnal worked for over 20 years with Procter & Gamble (P&G), a world leading consumer goods company. His responsibilities at P&G included Vice President, CFO India, Middle East and Africa, where he oversaw operations in over 50 countries and led the turnaround to profitability of India's multi-billion-dollar business. He was Vice President, CFO of Global Fabric & Home Care, and drove the global supply chain transformation and simplification of laundry detergents, P&G's largest category. Mr. Arnal was CFO of Global Personal Beauty Care, at the time overseeing iconic brands like SK-II, Olay, Secret and Max Factor. He was the Finance Director of P&G's worldwide Financial Planning & Analysis department, during the crucial period of the merger with Gillette. Earlier, Mr. Arnal was CFO for all of P&G's categories in Brazil and was Finance Manager in Mexico for Health and Beauty Care products.

"I am delighted to attract someone of Gustavo's calibre to Avon, along with his significant and relevant international experience in many of the key markets in which we operate.  We expect to benefit from Gustavo's operational experience in leading change in large regions and categories, while developing and driving robust financial performance," said Jan Zijderveld, Chief Executive Officer of Avon.

"Gustavo joins us at a critical time, as we continue to build Avon into the digital social selling beauty company for the future.  A key component of our plan to 'Open Up Avon' includes accelerating our revenue and margins by 2021, and we are confident that Gustavo will be an asset to our leadership team as we continue our work to drive financial and operational performance for the benefit of shareholders."

Gustavo Arnal said, "Avon is an iconic brand, operating in significant growth markets and categories throughout the world.  I was attracted to Avon by the recently announced transformation plans that demonstrate a clear vision and strategy to deliver results in growing beauty categories, emerging markets and the direct selling industry.  I look forward to working with Jan and the entire Avon management team to help drive this transformation and deliver enhanced results for shareholders."

Jan Zijderveld continued, "I would like to thank Jamie Wilson for his leadership and support over the last two years.  Jamie has helped to define the plans for our strategy, while significantly strengthening the balance sheet to support our stated growth plans.  We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."  

About Avon Products, Inc.
Avon is the Company that for 130 years has proudly stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above all, for women. Avon products include well-recognized and beloved brands such as ANEW, Avon Color, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques sold through approximately 6 million active independent Avon Sales Representatives. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avoncompany.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to changes to the Company's management team and statements relating to the Company's transformation, financial and operational performance including the acceleration of revenue and margins, and the Company's overall strategy.  Because forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in Avon's markets as well as the other risks detailed in Avon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any statements in this press release for changes that happen after the date of this release.

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SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.