Avon appoints new General Manager to accelerate Brazil's growth

José Vicente Marino proven direct selling executive

LONDON, Aug. 8, 2018 /CNW/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP), a global leader in direct selling of beauty products, today announced that José Vicente Marino has been appointed as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Brazil, effective 17 September 2018.  Mr. Marino will be responsible for accelerating growth in Brazil, Avon's largest business, reporting to Jan Zijderveld, Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Marino is a seasoned executive with extensive General Manager, direct selling, consumer and strategic planning experience within global organizations. He has held executive positions at Natura & Co., latterly as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Executive Committee, where he led the multi-channel and multi-brand strategy, and the entire sales team, having been promoted successively from Brands & Business VP and Marketing & Sales VP. Most recently, he was President at Flora Cosméticos e Limpeza, a leading beauty and hygiene products company owned by JBS Group and part of J&F Investimentos S.A., where he led sales growth of more than 15% during his time in the business.

José Vicente has significant experience at global consumer packaged goods companies, including Johnson & Johnson where he was a Commercial Director, VP of Customer Development LatAm and President of its Brazil operations. He started his career as a Marketing Manager and National Manager for key accounts at BestFoods, which was acquired by Unilever PLC. José Vicente has a B.A. in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, extension courses of Business Administration from FGV and Retail from USP and graduated from Harvard Business School on the Owners and President Management programme. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Alpargatas and a Board member of the Instituto Akatu.

"We are delighted to welcome José Vicente to our executive leadership team," said Jan Zijderveld, Chief Executive Officer. "His direct selling expertise, deep knowledge of Brazil, the consumer products industry and disciplined leadership skills, alongside a proven track record in driving growth and turning businesses around, will add tremendous energy to accelerating our business opportunities in Brazil. José Vicente has a strategic mindset and a drive for execution that I am confident will help us make great strides in our commercial operations to generate long-term profitable growth."

"It is exciting to join Avon during this important time in its history," said Mr. Marino. "I have long admired Avon's brand, its millions of beauty entrepreneurs, its highly appealing portfolio of beauty products and the compelling purpose at the heart of a company, which has been a champion for women for over 100 years. With consumers losing trust in corporates, direct selling between a Representative and her customer has never been more relevant. I was also attracted by the quality of the executive team, who will help me to increase Avon's selling opportunity in Brazil, leverage digital opportunities, enhance execution and drive increased profitability."

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 Avon's ability to increase its selling opportunity in Brazil, leverage digital opportunities and Avon's efforts to generate long-term profitable growth.  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.