About Mary Lou Quinlan

Mary Lou Quinlan has built a national reputation as a leading marketer, author, speaker and communicator specializing in women's issues.

From her 10 years with Avon Products, to her role as CEO of ad agency N.W. Ayer, advising clients including Continental Airlines, Procter & Gamble and General Motors, she's received the highest awards given to women in her field. Mary Lou was named 1995 Woman of the Year by Advertising Women of New York and received the 1997 Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications.

As founder of women's marketing company Just Ask a Woman, Mary Lou has researched women's attitudes toward beauty, health, money, homes, cars, technology and retail top to bottom. She captured her surprising insights in her best-selling book "Just Ask a Woman, Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy." And she followed that with her own story to help busy women de-stress, "Time Off for Good Behavior, How Hardworking Women Can Take a Break and Change Their Lives."

Last spring, Mary Lou co-starred in the first season of ABC's hit primetime reality show, "American Inventor" as the only female judge of the best new inventions. This spring she starts a new role as correspondent on The Early Show, covering trends about female consumers and professionals. She also writes a monthly career column called "Quinlan & Answers" for MORE magazine.

She's a graduate of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, holds an MBA from Fordham and an honorary doctorate from her alma mater and from Rosemont College. She's served on the board of the Advertising Council as well as the Partnership for a Drug Free America.