mark. from a Marketing Point of View

This week, Jeri Finard, the Senior Vice President/Global Brand President for Avon joined us for another "Make Their mark." Luncheon.

Jeri had one of the more simple life journeys. Her first job was at her college's admission center, and was offered to keep her position there after she graduated. After a few years in admissions, she quickly decided that she was missing something in her career, so applied and got accepted to Columbia Business School. After graduate school, she worked her way up to Global Chief Marketing Officer with Kraft.

What I found really admirable about Jeri was that she decided (in the middle of her career) to take 18 months off to spend more time with her family--especially with her daughter who was soon leaving for college. After her personal break, she was introduced to Avon and applied for a Marketing position there. Obviously, she earned the position at Avon and now serves as the Global Brand President.

At Avon, Jeri's mission is to define the Avon experience all over the world. The US actually regards Avon as a quality, low cost brand, however; in other countries, it is an elite brand--something everyone wants!

From her Marketing point of view regarding mark., Jeri's #1 goal is to have Latin America and Europe knocking at our door, wanting mark in their country. She is hoping to see this soon as mark. takes a good stand in the US and then can eventually take mark. global! What an exciting time to be a part of a young but rapidly growing company!

Jeri left us with some advice. She said, "Be honest with your managers. Tell them what you need." "If you are good at what you do, you can demand more." "If you are mobile, you will move faster." "It's not always about the promotions, it's about the learning experience."