Entrepreneurial Seminar Will Feature Avon Foundation’s Director

WORCESTER, Mass. – Robert Corti, chairman of the board of directors at Avon Foundation, will give a talk titled “Lessons I Have Learned” at the Prebusiness Entrepreneurial Seminar Dinner on Nov. 1 in the Hogan Campus Center, Room 320. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m. and is preceded by a dinner at 5:30 p.m. Registration is necessary. To register for this dinner/talk, please contact Professor David Chu, prebusiness advisor at pre-businessadvisor@holycross.edu.

Established in 1955, the Avon Foundation funds programs for economic opportunity and the physical and emotional well-being of women. Prior to assuming the chairmanship of the foundation, Corti had been employed by Avon Products, Inc., an $8.5 billion global beauty company operating in 60 countries, from 1976 through 2006. He held a variety of positions during his tenure and in 1998 was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer, a position he occupied until his retirement in 2006.

Corti is a member of the board of directors and chairman of the audit committee of Activision, Inc., a leading international publisher of interactive entertainment software with fiscal 2006 revenues of $1.5 billion. Additionally, he is a member of the board of directors of Bacardi Limited, a $4.5 billion international spirits company, where he serves on both the audit and compensation committees. He also serves on the boards of Queens College, Appalachian Mountain Club and Valtarese Foundations and is a member of the Holy Cross New York Executive Council.

Corti received his B.A. in Accounting, cum laude, from Queens College in 1971 and earned an M.B.A. in Taxation from St. John’s University in 1984.

He and his wife JoAnn reside in New York. They are the parents of two adult sons who are graduates of Holy Cross, Robert in 1999 and Michael in 2003.

The Prebusiness Entrepreneurial Seminars provide students with the opportunity to learn about business leadership and the liberal arts by bringing executive-level Holy Cross alumni, parents, and friends from different businesses to campus.