Commencement Oratrix
 Mrs. Ann M. Fudge
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Young & Rubicam, Inc.
Special Citation of Achievement
Hon.
D.H.L., 1998
Ann M. Fudge is Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam, Inc., a global network
of pre-eminent companies that cover the full range of marketing
communications. She also serves as Chairman and CEO of its largest division,
Y&R Advertising. Y&R Companies also include Burson-Marsteller (public
relations / public affairs), Wunderman (direct and database marketing),
Landor Associates (brand consulting and creative design), Sudler & Hennessey
(healthcare communications), among others. The appointments make Ms. Fudge
one of the few African-American female CEOs in the United States.
Prior to Young & Rubicam, she served as President, Beverages, Desserts and
Post Division—a $5 billion unit of Kraft Foods. She served on Kraft’s
Management Committee and has managed many businesses including Maxwell House
Coffee, Gevalia Kaffe, Kool Aid, Crystal Light, Post cereals, Jell-O
desserts, and Altoids. When she joined Kraft, she made a name for herself by
reviving older brands such as Log Cabin Syrup, Minute Rice, and Stove Top
Stuffing. Before joining General Foods, she spent nine years at General
Mills, Inc., where she began as a Marketing Assistant and rose to the level
of Marketing Director. While there, she led the team that developed and
introduced Honey Nut Cheerios.
She serves on the Board of Directors of General Electric, Honeywell
International, Marriott International, and the Federal Reserve Board. She
also serves on the Board of Governors of the Boys and Girls Club of America,
the Board of Directors of Catalyst, and is a trustee of the Brookings
Institution. She is a member of The Committee of 200—a professional
organization of preeminent women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, and
The Council on Foreign Relations.
Active in community and civic affairs, Fudge has won leadership awards the
Minneapolis and New York City YWCAs. She also received the 1998 Alumni
Achievement Award from Harvard Business School, and the 2000 Achievement
Award from the Executive Leadership Council. She has been profiled in Black Enterprise magazine, The New York Times, and most recently, BusinessWeek magazine. She was also named by Fortune magazine
as one of the 50 most powerful women in American business.
Fudge received a B.A. in management from Simmons College and an MBA from
Harvard University Graduate School of Business. Her husband, Richard, is an
educational consultant; they have two grown sons, Richard, Jr. and Kevin,
and three grandchildren.
|
