Ann M. Fudge
Chairman and CEO, Young & Rubicam Brands
Age: 52
In an industry that focuses on big accounts, great slogans, and advertising awards, Fudge may seem somewhat of a misfit. She is not your typical advertising executive — in background or ideology. Since being named chairman and CEO of WPP’s marketing and communication giant in May 2003, Fudge hasn’t emphasized new business or a creative savvy. Fudge has been steadfastly focused on strengthening the company, which has 540 offices in 80 countries, to function as one multifaceted organization — renaming the company Young & Rubicam Brands to make her point. This move speaks to Fudge’s efforts to create a company that can offer holistic marketing solutions to satisfy the needs of a client looking to enhance brand awareness. Why is the client so important? She used to be one. The former president of the $5 billion Kraft unit for the beverages, desserts, and Post cereals division, made her name in the consumer packaged good industry, reviving products brands that included Minute Rice, Maxwell House, and Stove Top.
(click here to read Black Enterprise’s feature on more black execs.)
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