Deb Henretta

Deborah Ann "Deb" Henretta is an American businesswoman. She is a senior adviser for General Assembly, a global education and technology company, as well as SSA & Company, a New York-based management consulting firm. Prior to her current position, she retired in 2015 from a 30-year career at Procter & Gamble, culminating in becoming one of only two top-level women executives for the consumer goods organization.

Early life Henretta, born May 1, 1961, graduated summa cum laude from St. Bonaventure University with a BA in communications in 1983. She earned her MA in advertising research and teaching assistantship from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1985. Upon graduation, Henretta was hired by Procter & Gamble as a Brand Assistant for Bold Laundry detergent.

Career During the next fourteen years, Henretta received several promotions and worked her way up to Vice President of Global Fabric Conditioners and Bleach. One of the products she and her team were instrumental in introducing to the public was the fabric refresher, Febreze. In 1999, Henretta became Vice President of Procter & Gamble’s North American Baby Care division. They also expanded the line to include diapers for other children age groups, such as newborns and toddlers. By 2004, Henretta was promoted to President of Global Baby, Toddler and Adult Care. While in Asia, Henretta was appointed as a U.S. representative to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)’s Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The council meets with government officials to provide business perspectives about the economic climate in the Asian market. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Henretta to chair the 21-member ABAC, making her its first woman chairperson. In August, she became the company's beauty chief. As the senior leadership maneuvered responsibility changes for the eventual succession to A.G. Lafley's CEO post, she was replaced as group president of beauty in 2015 and named global president of e-commerce for P&G. No longer considered a candidate for the CEO position, Henretta retired from Procter & Gamble in June 2015. She used her time to assist her mother until her mother's death in February 2016.