Andrea Jung, who has served on Apple's board of directors since 2008, is under fire for performance at her day job, as CEO of cosmetics company Avon.
Jung has been chief executive of Avon since November of 2009, but criticism toward her has grown lately after a series of missteps at the company. On Thursday, it was revealed that Avon is currently the subject of two investigations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
One of those investigations seeks to find out whether the company has bribed overseas officials, stemming from allegations out of China and Latin America. A second investigation includes a subpoena from the SEC seeking details on conversations held between Avon officials and analysts at Citigroup regarding company performance, financial health, and Avon's own investigations into bribery allegations.
In addition, the company also scrapped its sales targets during a quarterly conference call on Thursday, the latest in what some see as "a pattern of operational missteps," according to The Wall Street Journal. Directors at Avon continue to support Jung, but Avon shares dropped 18 percent on Thursday alone.
The report said that Jung is working on a fix for the company's current problems, as well as a long-term plan expected to be introduced by the first quarter. Jung declined to provide comment when speaking to analysts on Thursday, but added: "The buck stops with me."
Outside of Avon, Jung is the only woman on Apple's board of directors, where she has held a seat since January of 2008. Jung is the co-lead director of the Apple Board of Directors, a position she took in 2010, and she is also the head of Apple's compensation committee.
Apple's board of directors has entered what some view as an uncertain era following the passing of Steve Jobs. Outsiders now wonder if Apple will choose an independent chairman -- someone from outside of the company -- to head its board of directors.
In addition to Jung, the board includes former U.S. vice president Al Gore, Genentech Chairman Arthur Levinson, J. Crew CEO Millard Drexler, Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell, former CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation Ronald D. Sugar, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. At just seven people, it's a smaller-than-average board.