Avon Non-Executive Chairman Hassan leaves after four months

Fred Hassan resigned as non-executive chairman after about four months in the post to focus on other professional responsibilities.

Board member Doug Conant will replace Hassan immediately. Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Ross also was named to the board, effective May 2, to maintain the minimum number of board members required by Avon’s bylaws. Ross will step down once a new independent director is appointed.

CEO Sheri McCoy has been working to reverse four years of worsening results at Avon by cutting jobs and exiting smaller markets to reduce costs. Conant joined Avon’s board in April 2012, less than a year after retiring as CEO of Campbell Soup, which he was credited with helping turn around during his decade at the helm.

Hassan serves as non-executive chairman of Bausch & Lomb Holdings Inc., which filed for an initial public offering in March. Hassan also is a managing director and partner at Warburg Pincus LLC, which bought Bausch & Lomb in 2007 in a leveraged buyout. He succeeded former Avon CEO Andrea Jung as non- executive chairman on Jan 1 and steps down after 14 years on Avon’s board.

McCoy took over as CEO last April, replacing Jung, whose 13-year tenure included declining profits, a foreign bribery investigation and a takeover attempt from Coty Inc.

Source: Bloomberg