James Preston interview, 1993 August 26, 1993 August 26

Digital and written notes indicate that this interview was originally part of a larger recording that includes the James Preston, Jeanette Wagner, and Lawrence Aiken interviews (legacy audio object ID AOH180 and AOH180a), however the recordings only have the interview of Lawrence Aiken.

James E. Preston served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products Inc. from January 1989 to June 1998 and as its President from November 1988 to June 1998. Mr. Preston serves as the Chairman of Avon International Operations Inc. He has served on many other boards and positions of well known companies.

Estelle Ellis was born on November 12, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Hunter College in 1940, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Journalism, Ellis began a career in publishing. Ellis was crucial in the founding of Seventeen magazine in 1943, assisting Helen Valentine with design and advertising for the magazine. In 1958, Ellis founded Business Image, Incorporated, a creative marketing firm that stressed the importance of market and product positioning. Her company worked primarily with Condé Nast publications but other businesses, such as Yves Saint-Laurent Fragrances, Evan-Picone, AT&T, and Scoville, hired Business Image as well.



Beginning in the mid-1960s, Ellis began working with the Fashion Institute of Technology, creating programs and fundraising campaigns to help with financial support. During the 1990s, Ellis focused on writing, co-authoring At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries (1995), At Home with Art: How Art Lovers Live With and Care for Their Treasures (1999), and The Booklover's Repair Kit: First Aid for Home Libraries (2000). Estelle Ellis passed away on July 12, 2012.

Published