Backing resilient founders from the CEO who turned Avon around during Covid

Angela Cretu spent 25 years at Avon, rising from area manager to Global CEO, where she led one of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds in recent history. Taking over in January 2020 when the company was predicted to go bankrupt, she navigated COVID-19 as a new CEO and transformed one of the world's most recognised beauty brands. After stepping down in 2024, Angela made a fascinating career transition into angel investing, focusing on supporting female founders. In this episode, we explore: How crisis leadership experience translates to evaluating founder resilience What 25 years of managing network effects teach about startup claims The psychology of transitioning from running a 5-million-person sales network to backing 3-person startups Why her corporate background gives her unique insights that other angels miss Her investment philosophy and approach to supporting female founders Angela shares candid insights about the mental shifts required when moving from CEO to angel investor, reveals red flags she spots that others miss, and explains how her expertise in network-based business models helps her evaluate early-stage companies. Whether you're interested in angel investing, corporate turnarounds, or career transitions, this conversation offers valuable insights from someone who's successfully navigated both sides of the investment table. Connect with Angela Cretu on LinkedIn. Learn more about angel investing: Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. ⁠Take 2 mins to learn more⁠ .

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Backing resilient founders from the CEO who turned Avon around during Covid is an episode from Angel Insights | Angel Investing | Crowdfunding by Angel Insights.

This episode is 00:43:57 long.

This episode was published on Jul 23, 2025.

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