Ann Marie Fudge (born Ann Marie Brown on April 23, 1951) is an American businesswoman who is on a number of corporate boards, including those of
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
,
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...
,
Unilever
Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
and
Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Founded in 1981 in Pune, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru.
On ...
, as well as on several non-profit boards. She is former chair and CEO of
Young & Rubicam
VMLY&R was an American marketing and Marketing communications, communications company specializing in advertising, Digital media, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the 2020 mer ...
Brands, a global network of marketing communications companies. In 2010, Fudge was on President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan K. Simpson, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission (Unite ...
.
Early life and education
Fudge was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and attended the city's
Catholic schools
Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...
through 12th grade. She cited the
riots
A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
she lived through after the assassination of the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
as a 'hurtful' but formative experience. 'They made me incredibly determined,' she said. 'I wanted to do something that black people hadn't done before. When I hit roadblocks, that was what kept me going.' ... She grew up middle class in Washington, the first of two children born to a mother who was a manager at the
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
and a father who was an administrator at the
Postal Service
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...
. They stressed education ... and
udge alsocredits the nuns for pushing her to do her best."
Fudge is a graduate of
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University
Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...
and
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
,
["President Obama Appoints Morehouse Trustee Ann Fudge to Fiscal Commission"](_blank)
, Morehouse press release by Add Seymour Jr., March 2, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010. earning respectively BA (honors) in retail management, 1973; and MBA, 1977. In 1998, HBS Prof. Stephen A. Greyser recalled Fudge as "a solid citizen, a solid student."
Discussing her educational choices with ''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' in 2004, she said, "When I was at Simmons College, I had this great professor – Margaret Hennig. She was the one who encouraged me to think about business and apply to Harvard Business School. She and Ann Jardim wrote the first book on women in business, called ''The Managerial Woman'', and founded the Simmons Graduate School of Business. I applied to Harvard Business School my senior year."
Career
One job Fudge had while still in high school was with the Teen Board at
Hecht's
Hecht's was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operated in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The family business was acqui ...
department store. The job included advising on teen-age fashions and a trip to fashion magazines in New York. After college, Fudge worked in the human resources department of the General Electric Company before pursuing her MBA.
["Way Beyond the Glass Ceiling"](_blank)
by Judith H. Dobrzyski, ''The New York Times'', May 11, 1995.
After Harvard, Fudge spent nine years at
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
.
"Her biggest accomplishment there, she said, was her part as a marketing assistant on the team that developed
Honey Nut Cheerios. Today, it's one of the nation's biggest cereal brands."
Fudge then ultimately was president of the beverages, desserts and post division, a $5 billion unit of
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
. At Kraft, she was on the management committee and managed businesses including
Maxwell House coffee,
Gevalia
Gevalia ( , , ) is a coffee brand originating from Gävle, Sweden. Founded in 1853, it has grown to become the largest Coffee roasting, coffee roastery in Scandinavia. The brand name "Gevalia" is derived from the Latin name for Gävle.
A mains ...
kaffe,
Kool-Aid,
Crystal Light,
Post Cereals
Post Consumer Brands, LLC (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known simply as Post) is an American consumer packaged goods food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota.
The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, own ...
,
Jell-O
Jell-O (stylized in all caps) is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of ...
desserts, and
Altoids
Altoids are a brand of mints, sold primarily in distinctive metal tins. The brand was created by the London-based Smith & Company in the 1780s, and became part of the Callard & Bowser company in the 19th century. Their advertising slogan is "The ...
.
[Board of Directors biography](_blank)
, Council on Foreign Relations website. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
In 1998, Fudge was named by
''Fortune'' magazine as 30th on the 50 Most Influential Women in American Business list (
Carly Fiorina
Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (; ; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005. Fiorina was the first woman to le ...
No. 1
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
#2), 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. She also at the time sat on the boards of
AlliedSignal
AlliedSignal, Inc. was an American aerospace, automotive and engineering company, created through the 1985 merger of Allied Corp. and The Signal Companies. It purchased Honeywell for $14.8 billion in 1999, and adopted the Honeywell name and iden ...
,
Liz Claiborne
Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...
, (both as of 1993)
and
Catalyst
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
, Inc.
In 2001, after a year as president of the beverages et al. division at Kraft, "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. 'To be honest, I still haven't figured it out. ... It was definitely not dissatisfaction. It was stepping back and saying, "What are you really here for? What do you really want to accomplish?"' She spent two years reconnecting with friends and family and delving into community work. Her charitable work included work with a number of organizations, including the Executive Leadership Council, a non-profit group of high-level African-American leaders in business, the
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, has i ...
,
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and the
United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...
, among others. From her time away, Fudge became inspired by the power individuals have to make a difference in the world."
Following the
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job."
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...
, Fudge was chair and chief executive officer of Young & Rubicam Brands from 2003 to 2007. In 2004, ''Business Week'' summed up some of the challenges facing her, saying Y&R "has suffered through poor management and a messy merger in recent years. The various units tend to work in isolation. The ad agency has lost some big clients. And employees are disgruntled ...
ncludingreports of animosity between Fudge and creative head Michael Patti."
["Ann Fudge on Making Choices: The Young & Rubicam CEO talks about the benefits of stepping away from work and how her priorities changed because of it."](_blank)
Interview with Diane Brady; als
, an assessment of six Young & Rubicam operations; an
, "how Ann Fudge wants to change" Y&R; all from ''Bloomberg BusinessWeek'', March 29, 2004.
Fudge was Inside the Boardroom
guest
A guest is person who is given hospitality.
Guest or The Guest may refer to:
* Guest (surname), people with the surname ''Guest''
* USS ''Guest'' (DD-472), U.S. Navy ''Fletcher''-class destroyer 1942–1946
* Guest appearance, guest actor, guest ...
, 2008,
Carlson School of Management
The Curtis L. Carlson School of Management is the business school of the University of Minnesota, a public research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Carlson School offers undergraduate and graduate degr ...
at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
.
In February 2011, Fudge was featured by the Commonwealth Institute in Miami, Florida, and in April 2011, Fudge spoke at the Economic Club of Minnesota.
[Ann M. Fudge]
Economic Club of Minnesota webpage. Retrieved May 25, 2011. The new biography for this and the Commonwealth Institute engagements in 2011 (nearly or completely identical) did not mention Fudge's service on the NCFRR.
In 2011, Fudge was on the boards of directors of General Electric, Novartis, and Unilever. She was chair of the U.S. Programs Advisory Board of
The Gates Foundation; and she was a trustee of the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
,
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
, the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
and
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...
.
She has been a Morehouse trustee since April 2006.
She also was on the board of Buzzient, Inc, and was vice chair of the
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
Board of Overseers.
[
In June 2011, it was announced that Fudge would join the board of Indian technology and outsourcing company ]Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Founded in 1981 in Pune, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru.
On ...
on October 1, 2011, as an Additional Director.["Infosys announces appointment of new members to the Board"]
Infosys press release, June 11, 2011. Fudge was at the time the sole woman on the board, and was recruited by retiring founder NR Narayana Murthy and nominations committee chair Jeffrey S. Lehman. Murthy had also been on the Unilever board and knew Fudge from there.
In September 2011, Fudge was one of six Hall of Fame honorees named in advance of the National Association of Corporate Directors
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) is an independent, not-for-profit, section 501(c)(3) founded in 1977 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. NACD's membership includes more than 1,750 corporate boards as well as several ...
November gala in New York City.
Political involvement and public service
In 2008, Fudge was a member of the Obama presidential campaign’s finance committee.
In early 2010, Fudge was named by President Obama to the 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan K. Simpson, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission (Unite ...
, a bipartisan panel chaired by former Senator Alan K. Simpson
Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican Senate whip from 198 ...
, ( R- WY), and former White House Chief of Staff
The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States.
The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...
Erskine Bowles (D). The balance of the panel was three more members appointed by the President, six members of the U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, and six members of the U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
. The commission first met on April 27, 2010 and had a December report deadline. Though specific actions based on the report were limited, commission members who were also members of Congress reappeared in the so-called Gang of Six in spring and summer, 2011, in the debt-ceiling-increase debate.
In September 2010, Fudge was listed as one of several possible candidates to replace Larry Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as presiden ...
as director of the National Economic Council. Some reports signalled that the White House could be looking for a female executive with business experience to fill the post.
In September 2011, Fudge joined in the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses United States federal budget, federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United Sta ...
(CRFB) "Go Big" forum. CRFB, along with the New America Foundation
New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is an American Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal think tank founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security, technology, health, gender, ...
, the Concord Coalition, and the Bipartisan Policy Center
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address U.S. policy challenges.
History
BPC w ...
"discuss dthe path ahead for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
(Super Committee) and the reasons it should exceed its mandate".
Fudge also is on the State Department's Foreign Affairs Policy Board
The Foreign Affairs Policy Board is an advisory board that provides independent advice and opinion to the secretary of state, the deputy secretary of state, and the director of policy planning on matters concerning U.S. foreign policy. The board ...
.
Personal life
As a sophomore at Simmons, Ann married Rich Fudge. Before she graduated, they had a baby, Rich, Jr. She had to balance personal and academic/professional demands from that early stage on. "Her fondest memory from General Mills ... involved her younger son, Kevin, then 9. Ms. Fudge had just been made a marketing director, the first black at that level. 'I came home all excited, and was telling my family, and he said: "What's the big deal, mom? So now instead of one brand, you have four. You can do that." He was right. My sons have helped keep things in perspective.'"
Fudge is also noted for having pursued her career despite the glass ceiling
A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
which has been seen to thwart promotion to the top ranks, facing women and minorities in the corporate workforce particularly. And, in regards Fudge's relatively early moves out of jobs, the 2004 ''Business Week'' article also included a sidebar on four "other women holeft high-powered positions in the corporate world to find a place where they could work on their own terms."
Fudge is currently based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is best known for being home to Boston College and a section of the Boston Marathon route. Like all Massachusetts villages, Ch ...
. She and her husband have five grandchildren.[ She is ]Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Awards and honors
* Candace Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 1991.
* American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow, 2019.
References
External links
"On Leadership: Ann Fudge on coming in as an outsider"
interview by Steven Pearlstein
Steven Pearlstein is an American columnist who wrote on business and the economy in a column published twice weekly in ''The Washington Post''. His tenure at the WaPo ended on March 3, 2021. Pearlstein received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Comme ...
, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', March 1, 2011, video.
* video, February 15, 2011, The Commonwealth Institute.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fudge, Ann M.
1951 births
American advertising executives
American corporate directors
American women chief executives
Harvard Business School alumni
Living people
Simmons University alumni
Unilever people
Women in advertising
21st-century American women
African-American Catholics