Former Vice President – CBD Global Healthcare of Procter and Gamble
Founder – AM Marketing & Sales Concepts
After graduating from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Finance, Ann began her career as an entry-level sales representative for one of the world’s largest and most respected consumer goods companies, Procter & Gamble. She quickly moved through the ranks, and in 2000 she was named the first female Vice President in the history of the Procter & Gamble Sales organization. At the time she was the first woman in the 160-year history of P&G to be named an officer of the company in Sales. In her last role, Ann was Vice President of Global Health Care Sales, an $8 billion dollar business.
Ann regularly acts as a mentor and career coach to other women and lives by the credo, “you can have it all, but you can’t have it all at the same time.” That pragmatic truth led her to take a step back at the height of her professional career, focusing all her energy on a daughter (Katie) about to enter middle school and son (Matt). It was a choice she would make a million times over.
Still, it didn’t take long before she was back making things happen on the business front. She and a partner acquired a full lineup of personal grooming products for young men from Procter and Gamble. The brand was called OverTime, or OT for short, and, at the time, was little more than a white paper and concept boards. She and her partner arranged for manufacturing, developed packaging, and built a national sales and marketing plan. They debuted nationally with Target and sold over $2 million in just the first quarter.
It was about that time that Ann’s alma mater recognized her with one of their highest honors, bringing her back to campus as an Illini Comeback Guest. It was a fitting gesture as Ann started Illini Comeback in 1979 and was also a founding member of the booster group Illini Pride and student organization Orange Crush.
Today, Ann is actively involved in the Hilton Head, South Carolina community. She is the Development Chair and a Trustee for The Children’s Center (non-profit early education and child care) as well as a Trustee for the Heritage Classic Foundation (HCF). The HCF puts on one of the most popular PGA tour events, The RBC Heritage Classic. The foundation exists to enrich the quality of life for South Carolina residents and, in partnership with the PGA, generates over $3 million each year in charitable giving.
