EXECUTIVE NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR

Mary Kay Ash

Over the years, there have been many successful business leaders. But none has had as unique a story as the legendary Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc., who passed away November 22, 2001. Famously ebullient and personally warm, the chairman emeritus was not only a role model, but an inspiration to her Mary Kay independent sales force. With warm hugs and words of wisdom, Mary Kay represented a role model and a source of encouragement to the women who sell Mary Kay products. Still one of the few female Horatio Alger Award recipients who hails from the business world, Mary Kay Ash left an indelible mark on American business and on opportunities open to women.

Saying that her idea of P&L is "people and love" rather than "profit and loss,"  Mary Kay nevertheless powered a corporate colossus. Since 1963, Mary Kay Inc. has grown from 9 original sales force members to an independent sales force numbering over 950,000. Mary Kay does business in 37 markets on five continents and nearly $1.6 billion in wholesale sales worldwide. Mary Kay also consistently ranks among the best-selling brands of facial skin care and color cosmetics in the United States.