EXCLUSIVE
After knocking on doors for weeks, Avon has narrowed its search for a new chief executive to a handful of candidates, The Post has learned.
The messed-up makeup marketer — whose longtime CEO Andrea Jung agreed to step down in December after a slew of gaffes that have smudged her reputation — is courting three key candidates to replace Jung, according to a source close to the situation.
Mindy Grossman, who currently heads the Home Shopping Network, and Brian Cornell, a former top exec at Walmart, are both in the running for the top job at Avon, according to two sources briefed on the search.
The identity of the third leading candidate couldn’t be verified, but insiders said chatter has focused on C.J. Fraleigh, who was ousted last September from the helm of Sara Lee’s North American division.
An Avon spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday.
New York-based Avon, whose board met Friday to discuss the search, according to sources, has been in talks with all of the three industry heavyweights. Executive-search firm Spencer Stuart is leading the process, sources said.
“It’s not really clear how close the board is to making a decision,” according to one person briefed on the talks.
That may be partly because of candidates’ doubts about Avon’s plan to keep Jung on the board as chairman, another source said. Last month, Avon fired vice chairman Charles Cramb as an internal corruption probe escalated.
“Strong CEOs don’t tend to enjoy having their predecessors meddling in their business, especially when it’s a turnaround,” the source said.
Grossman — a hard-charging exec who has revamped HSN by bringing in celebrities like Mary J. Blige and Emeril Lagasse to hawk products on the TV network — could “crack the whip” to clean up Avon’s overseas businesses, which have been mired in bribery scandals and technology snafus, according to one retail insider.
Cornell, who stepped down as CEO of Walmart’s Sam’s Club last month to return to the Northeast for family reasons, was likewise credited with reviving the warehouse chain.
“If you consider the Avon customer, they often shop at Sam’s Club,” said one source, countering skepticism that Cornell would be a good fit for Avon.
Cornell, however, is also weighing the prospect of a top job at PepsiCo, sources said.
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