Ann M. Fudge is a remarkable business woman and marketing executive who is responsible for shaping many of the brands that we enjoy today. She has also lent her genius to shaping the pharmaceutical industry, the arts and philanthropic efforts through her very active corporate board service. Keep reading to learn more about Ms. Anne Fudge, an African American business giant.
9 Facts About Living Legend Ms. Ann Fudge
1. Ann Fudge was born and raised in Washington DC in a middle class home with two sibling to a mom who was a manager at the National Security Agency and a dad who was an administrator at the US Postal Service. She has said that her parents' strong focus on education and the impact of the horrific riots after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made her more determined than ever to become a success in life and give back to the African American community.
2. Ann Fudge received her Bachelors of Art degree from Simmons College and then her MBA from Harvard University.
3. After business school, Ms. Fudge spent nine years serving at General Mills and at General Foods. She worked in a variety of positions while there, including president of Kraft General Foods Maxwell House Coffee Company and president of Krafts Beverages, Desserts and Post Divisions – a 5 billion dollar unit.
4. In 1998, Ms. Fudge was named by Fortune magazine as 30th on the 50 Most Influential Women in American Business list. She happened while she was executive vice president at Kraft. At the time, coffee and cereals for which Fudge was responsible accounted for $2.7 billion (16%) of Kraft's $16.8 billion in sales.
5. In 2001, after a year as president of the beverages division at Kraft, Ms. Fudge decided to retire.
According to a Business Week article, as reported on her Wikipedia page, Ms. Fudge said that her choice to leave Kraft was based on a number of reasons including a goal of retiring before 50, dealing with the illness and death of her parents and really connecting with her purpose in life. So … she retired and spent two years connecting with friends and family and delving into community work.
6. In 2003, Ms. Fudge returned to the corporate space as CEO of Young & Rubicam in 2003, one of the largest and fastest growing digital agencies in the world, and served that company for three years.
7. Ms. Fudge is actively leading the direction of the non-profit and private industries through active board service. She is a director of Novartis AG, Unilever PLC and Infosys Ltd., chair of the U.S. Program Advisory Panel of the Gates Foundation, a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation and serves on the Advisory Council of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Foreign Affairs Policy Board of the U.S. State Department.
8. In September 2011, she was one of six Hall of Fame honorees named for the National Associate of Corporate Directors.
9. Ms. Fudge is a wife and mom to two sons.
You can learn more about her on Forbes.com, BigThink.com and her Wikipedia page.
Staff Blogger
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