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Ann Fudge Out: Did She Ever Have a Chance?
Compiled by the DiversityInc staff
November 29, 2006
Former Kraft executive Ann Fudge became the top-ranking black female ad exec when she was appointed chairman CEO of WPP Group's Young & Rubicam in May 2003. Now she's leaving, not to anyone's surprise.
Fudge, who gained leadership marketing experience at General Foods and later at Kraft, No. 38 in The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®, was charged with reviving Young & Rubicam's (Y&R) lackluster client base, which she was unable to do.
Y&R had been losing accounts since WPP acquired it in 2000, but more were lost during Fudge's tenure, including Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar, Burger King and Sony Consumer Electronics. Even Kraft, her former employer, pulled out. Fudge, who was criticized for focusing more on internal operations than business growth, hired Australian ad exec Hamish McLennan to assume control over Y&R's major brand earlier this year while she oversaw public relations and direct-marketing firms.
In a statement, Fudge said she will become more involved in nonprofit activities, according to Advertising Age. She currently sits on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Council on Foreign Relations, along with General Electric Co.
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