Who is ann fudge

Career: General Electric Company, manpower specialist, —75; General Mills Corporation, Minneapolis, MN, marketing assistant, —78, assistant product manager, —80, product manager, —83, marketing director, —86; Kraft General Foods, White Plains, NY, associate director of strategic planning, —89, vice president for marketing and development in the Dinners and Enhancers division, —91, general manager of same division, —93, executive vice president, —, president of Maxwell House Coffee division, —; president of Beverages, Desserts and Post Division, —; Young and Rubicam Brands, chairman and CEO, —; chairman and CEO, Young and Rubicam Advertising — The promotion was also teamed with Fudge's ascension to executive vice president at Kraft General Foods.

Her rise up the corporate ladder was not without sacrifice, however. She once turned down a top job offer that entailed a move to another city. Swiss and Judith P.

And I did not want to be a commuter wife and mom. In Fudge's success in the Dinners and Enhancers division—which included double-digit growth and an increased market share for many of the products whose images she retooled—was responsible for her promotion to executive vice president within the company. The following year, her skills brought her an even tougher assignment—taking over the presidency of Kraft's ailing Maxwell House Coffee brand.

Fudge started off her new job by visiting the nation's home of the nineties' coffee craze, Seattle. Younger consumers are more apt to buy pricey beans from specialty gourmet coffee retailers such as Starbucks than to purchase a can of Maxwell House.

Fudge's plan was to revamp advertising and reposition the brand to make it more attractive to this segment of the market. She faced a tough job—Maxwell House had tried this approach before, and failed, in part because their "marketing strategies did not have enough finesse," Ted R. Lingle, however, noted that Fudge's qualifications and previous successes gave her the edge to make her strategy a success. Fudge's achievements caused some to predict that she would be the first African American woman to run a major company in the United States.

Many large companies attempted to add diversity to all facets of their workforce, including the highest corporate offices. Fudge's astounding success and business demeanor attracted attention from corporate headhunters. But it was another offer from Kraft that she accepted in , when she became president of the Beverages, Desserts and Post Division.

The division flourished under her leadership, but after one year Fudge decided to retire. She related to Business Week that her choice to leave Kraft was based on a number of reasons. She had had a goal of retiring before age 50; she had dealt with the recent illness and death of her parents, some close friends and relatives. It was stepping back and saying, 'What are you really here for?

What do you really want to accomplish? She earned her M. After graduating from Simmons College, Fudge was hired in the human resources department of General Electric.

She joined General Mills in Minnesota as a marketing assistant after she earned her M. In , she was promoted to marketing director at General Mills; and, in , Fudge accepted a position with Kraft Foods.

Then, in , Kraft Foods appointed Fudge the president of the Maxwell House coffee brand, making her the first African American woman to head a major corporate division. As president, she went on to run a successful campaign to rebrand Maxwell House. After a two-year sabbatical, during which she deepened her involvement with the Boys and Girls Club of America, Fudge returned to the corporate world as the chairman and C.

She remained in this role until When my husband left his job in Connecticut, we moved to Boston with more questions than answers. Our sons were 11 months and 4 years old when I enrolled at HBS. But one thing we knew for sure I would graduate in two years with an MBA from Harvard. What did I learn? I learned that anything is possible if you commit yourself. I was a wife and a mom