I'm proud of my heritage and certainly my gender. I think it's a privilege being a minority woman leading a Fortune 250 company. She's a young woman with a very big job. She has an opportunity to really demonstrate her abilities, and if she does well, others will undoubtedly reach for her. In October 2004, Andrea Jung (Jung), the chairperson and CEO of Avon Products Inc. (Avon), was listed at the third position on Fortune magazine's annual list of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business". It was the fourth time that Jung had featured in this list, and analysts said the honor was well-deserved. Jung was credited with transforming Avon, which was mockingly called the "Graying Goliath", into a modern company that catered to the beauty needs of women across age groups and social strata. Under her leadership, Avon's image in the market changed from "frumpy" to "fashionable".

Jung was appointed the CEO of Avon in 1999, after the departure of her predecessor Charles Perrin (Perrin), who had earlier been the CEO of Duracell. She was the first woman to become the CEO of the company, which was more than a century old. At the time of her appointment, several people, both inside and outside the company, were of the opinion that Jung was too young and inexperienced to lead a global company like Avon. However, Jung's dynamic leadership and comprehensive turnaround plan soon silenced their doubts. By the early 2000s, it was universally acknowledged that Jung had been the ideal person to lead Avon out of its difficulties. (Refer Exhibit I for a background note on Avon).