Avon Products President Smith To Leave In October

BETSY VERECKEY

NEW YORK (AP) — Avon Products Inc. said Thursday that its president, Elizabeth Smith, is leaving the beauty products company at the end of October to seek out a CEO position elsewhere.

Smith joined Avon in January 2005 and has been president since September 2007. As president, Smith was in charge of the company's global marketing, supply chain and information technology divisions and also oversaw global sales.

Andrea Jung has served as Avon's CEO since November 1999, according to CapitalIQ. Smith said in a statement that it was likely Jung would remain at the company's helm for some time.

"With Andrea's commitment as a relatively young CEO to lead Avon for the foreseeable future and with her full support, the time is right for me to seek the next step of my career outside of Avon," she said.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Mark S. Astrachan, who has a "Buy" rating on shares of Avon, said he thinks the announcement indicates that Jung will remain in her current role for the foreseeable future.