Avon Names New Group VP

Avon Products, Inc. names Cheryl Heinonen as group vice president, global corporate relations and chief communications officer, effective Aug. 2012.

 

Heinonen reports directly to Sheri McCoy, Avon's chief executive officer and her responsibilities include Corporate & Employee Communications, PR, Representative Communications, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

 

She has extensive experience in managing corporate reputation for large, global consumer brands. Most recently, she has served as a managing director at Burson-Marsteller. In this role, she has served as a trusted advisor on communications and reputation management to some of the world's top consumer brands. Her areas of focus include reputation management, CSR, organizational communications, consumer branding, and international public affairs.

 

Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Heinonen spent the majority of her career at Visa, where she worked from 1997 to 2008. In her final role as senior vice president of global corporate relations, she managed all communications programs for Visa International through its three-year corporate restructuring and IPO. She established the company's internal and external digital communications strategy, global reputation management programs and integrated global CSR program.

 

Heinonen also managed communications for the first major re-brand for Visa in the company's history and led public relations for its global sports sponsorship portfolio. She has extensive involvement with the global women's economic development agenda, having worked with corporations, foundations, and NGOs in this field since 2004.