Sherilyn S. McCoy (born 1959) is an American scientist and business executive. She is the former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Avon Products Avon Products, Inc. ( ) is an Anglo-American multinational company selling cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care products. It is a multi-level marketing company based in London. In 2020, Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwid ...

and former vice chairman and member of the office of the chairman of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, where she was responsible for the pharmaceutical and consumer business divisions of the company. She was appointed as the vice chairman in January 2011, after which she was named by ''

Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. T ...

'', as the 10th woman on their list of "50 Most Powerful Women in Business", a list on which she has been included since 2008. In February 2012, she resigned her employment with Johnson & Johnson after 30 years and was subsequently named as the CEO of Avon Products. In August 2012, she was recognized as the 39th most powerful woman in the world by ''

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

''.

Early life and education

Sherilyn S. "Sheri" McCoy was born in 1959, in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

. She attended the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, earning her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

textile chemistry Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not ...

. In 1982, she earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. She received her

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in 1988, from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. She holds five patents registered in the United States and Europe.

Career

Johnson & Johnson

McCoy joined Johnson & Johnson as a chemical engineer in 1982, where she focused on

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

products. She was eventually promoted to lead the company's research and development division, which was followed with a post as the global president of the division of the company that developed products that met the needs of infants, along with products that treated small injuries and wounds. In 2005, she was appointed to serve as the chairman of the

Ethicon Endo-Surgery Ethicon, Inc., is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The company is part of the Johnson & Johnson MedTech business segment. It was incorporated as a separate company under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella in 1949 to expand and diversify the Johnso ...

device division, where she was responsible for business in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. She simultaneously served as a member of the Operating Committee of the Medical Device and Diagnostics Group.

Surgical Care and Pharmaceuticals Group

In 2008, McCoy was appointed to chair the Surgical Care Group. This leadership role established her as a member of the company's Executive Committee and one of the highest-ranking female executives in the global drug industry. On January 1, 2009, she was promoted to serve Johnson & Johnson as their Worldwide Chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Group, where she was responsible for new product development and distribution, along with acquisitions and partnerships. She also led the group during legal proceedings and loss of patent exclusivity. In 2010, she was promoted to Vice Chairman of the company.

Avon CEO

In February 2012, after 30 years of employment with Johnson & Johnson, McCoy was passed over for a promotion to succeed William C. Weldon as chief executive officer. When

Alex Gorsky Alex Gorsky (born 1960) is an American businessman. He is the former chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Gorsky stepped down as CEO of Johnson & Johnson in January 2022 and was succeeded by Joaquin Duato. He was the seventh person who was the ...

, head of the industry

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

known as

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced ), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, is an American trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Founded in 1958, PhRMA ...

(PhRMA) and CEO of

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 ...

was named to succeed Weldon, McCoy resigned from Johnson & Johnson, effective April 18, 2012. In March 2012, French beauty products manufacturer,

Coty Coty Inc. is an American multinational beauty company founded in 1904 by François Coty. With its subsidiaries, it develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances, cosmetics, skin care, nail care, and both professional and retail hai ...

attempted a takeover of Avon Products, presenting an unsolicited $10 billion buyout offer. The bid was rejected by Avon shareholders, who believed that the company was worth more, stating that the monetary offer was way below the market value that would be feasible under the leadership of a new chief executive officer. On April 9, 2012, just two weeks after the takeover was rejected, it was announced that McCoy was chosen to lead Avon Products as their new CEO, effective April 23, 2012. In early August 2017, Sheri McCoy was “terminated without cause” from her position as Avon CEO. She had been negotiating an exit since June. Sales had been depressed for several years.

Board memberships

While employed with Johnson & Johnson, McCoy represented the company as a member of the Board of Directors of PhRMA, the

National Quality Forum National Quality Forum (NQF) is a United States–based non-profit membership organization that promotes patient protections and healthcare quality through measurement and public reporting. It was established in 1999 based on recommendations by t ...

, and the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

's Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care. Following her appointment as CEO of Avon Products, McCoy continues to serve on the Board of Directors of

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (''FIRST'') is an international youth organization that operates the ''FIRST'' Robotics Competition, ''FIRST'' Lego League Challenge, ''FIRST'' Lego League Explore, ''FIRST'' Lego Leagu ...

(FIRST), a nonprofit organization based out of

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, that focuses on developing programs designed to inspire students to consider a career in the fields of engineering and technology. She is additionally a member of the Rutgers University President's Business Leaders Cabinet, while simultaneously serving on the board of

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a private Catholic college in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that compl ...

, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in

Easton, Massachusetts Easton is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area. Easton is governed by an elected Select Board. Town meeting, Open Town Meeti ...

. In October 2017, McCoy was appointed as a non-executive director of

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

Honors and awards

* 2008: #44 "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" – ''Fortune Magazine'' * 2009: #14 "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" – ''Fortune Magazine'' * 2010: #12 "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" – ''Fortune Magazine'' * 2011: #10 "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" – ''Fortune Magazine'' * 2012: #7 "Most Powerful Mom of 2012" – ''

Working Mother ''Working Mother'' was a magazine for working mothers launched in 1979 by Founding Publisher Milton Lieberman, who was succeeded by Carol Evans. The founding editor of the magazine was Vivian Cadden, who retired as editor in 1990. Subsequent edi ...

'' magazine * 2012: #15 "World's Most Powerful Women in Business" – ''Forbes Magazine'' * 2012: #39 "World's Most Powerful Women of 2012" – ''Forbes Magazine''

Patents

;Sanitary napkin with panty gathering flaps * US4900320: Filing date: June 16, 1986; Issue date: February 13, 1990 * EP0249924: Filing date: June 15, 1987; Issue date: March 4, 1992 ;Sanitary napkin * USD327319: Filing date: February 9, 1990; Issue date: June 23, 1992 ;Sanitary napkin * USD346213: Filing date: November 10, 1992; Issue date: April 19, 1994 ;Sanitary napkin * USD352554: Filing date: November 16, 1992; Issue date: November 15, 1994 ;Raised center sanitary napkin with raised edges * US5599337: Filing date: May 2, 1994; Issue date: February 4, 1997 * EP0685212: Filing date: February 28, 1995; Issue date: December 4, 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccoy, Sheri Living people Johnson & Johnson people American women scientists Princeton University alumni Rutgers University alumni University of Massachusetts Dartmouth alumni American chemical engineers 1959 births American women chief executives People from Quincy, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Massachusetts American cosmetics businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American chief executives of fashion industry companies Members of the National Academy of Medicine 20th-century American chemists American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies People associated with direct selling 21st-century American businesswomen 20th-century American women scientists