By Kevin McCauley
Burson-Marsteller’s Cheryl Heinonen moved to Avon Products Aug. 1 as group VP-global corporate relations and chief communications officer.
She reports to CEO Sheri McCoy, who joined the struggling cosmetics company in April from Johnson & Johnson. McCoy succeeded Andrea Jung.
At B-M since 2008, Heinonen counseled consumer clients on branding, international and reputation issues.
Earlier, she was senior VP-global corporate PR at Visa International, where she managed PR for its restructuring and re-branding.
McCoy said in a statement that Heinonen is a key addition to her team because Avon’s “ability to communicate effectively, both internally and externally, is critical,” as it seeks a corporate turnaround.
Avon’s first-half net tumbled 75 percent to $88.1M on a six percent sales decline to $5.1B.
The New York-based direct sales company yesterday opened negotiations with the Justice Dept. and Securities and Exchange Commission to iron out a settlement on charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In May, Coty withdrew a $10B bid to acquire Avon. |