Lynda Resnick
Encyclopedia
Lynda Rae Resnick is an American entrepreneur
and businesswoman. Resnick is married to Stewart A. Resnick, who is also her business partner. Through their holding company
they own the POM Wonderful
and FIJI Water
brands, the Teleflora
floral wire service company, large industrial citrus and nut farms, and other businesses.
. Her father, Jack Harris, worked as a film distributor during the 1950s. Because of her father's occupation, Resnick, at the age of four, had a recurring role on The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour broadcast from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. Resnick graduated from Harriton High School
. After a brief stint at a local college, Resnick took a job at the in-house ad agency for Sunset House catalog. Resnick founded an advertising agency, Lynda Limited, at the age of 19.
, asked to use her copy machine on nights and weekends in order to distribute top-secret military documents. Ellsberg gave these documents to The New York Times
, which then published them. Dubbed the Pentagon Papers
, they detailed aspects of the war hidden from the public and damaged the credibility of the Presidents involved. Resnick was designated an un-indicted co-conspirator for her role and pursued by prosecutors for two years. Legal actions were eventually dropped.
which the Resnicks use to facilitate their various business ventures. Notable brands controlled by the Resnicks include POM Wonderful and FIJI Water. They also operate large industrial citrus and nut farms in California. The Resnicks met while he was President of American Protection Industries, Los Angeles, CA, and she was pitching her ad agency to get his business.
special on NBC
resulted in another Effie win associated with the company. January 2009 saw her company's first Super Bowl
advertisement, which was voted one of the best Super Bowl ads by several newspapers, blogs and online fan sites.
in 1984,; Lynda Resnick began directing the company's international marketing efforts, a position she held until 2000. She influenced a new business plan of providing products that delivered "emotional satisfaction", such as the high-end collectible doll business. According to the book "Encyclopedia of American Women in Business" the first run of a Scarlett O'Hara
(Gone with the Wind
)-inspired doll generated $35 million in sales. Also during her tenure, licensing was arranged for products related to the Louvre
art museum in Paris, the Vatican
, board games like Monopoly
and Scrabble
, classic cars, and famous people like John Wayne
, Elvis Presley
, and Marilyn Monroe
. Franklin Mint began having some problems in 1997, when Tiger Woods sued the company after it produced a commemorative medal of his win in the 1997 Masters tournament. Franklin Mint paid Woods an undisclosed amount of money to settle the case. In May 1998, the estate of Princess Diana filed a lawsuit to keep Franklin Mint from profiting from the sale of commemorative Princess Di merchandise. The Resnicks sold Franklin Mint in 2006.
. In 1996, intrigued by folklore, she began to sponsor medical research regarding the pomegranate's health effects. By 2000 there was research published with findings regarding effects of regular pomegranate consumption. Lynda Resnick came up with the POM Wonderful logo and her design team developed an hourglass-shape bottle, the company later expanding into other liquid products and pills.
through a series of press releases. Fiji Water laid off 40% of its staff in December, 2008 due to weakening sales.
, Colorado
. They are also involved in philanthropy. In 2009 a business/personal memoir she co-authored was published.
. In September 2008, she and her husband announced a $45 million gift to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the construction of a new exhibition pavilion as well as $10 million in artworks.
She is on the Executive Board of the UCLA Medical Sciences; the Prostate Cancer Foundation
and the Milken Family Foundation. In 2005 a UCLA operated Neuropsychiatric Hospital was named for Resnick and her husband in honor of their involvement. They made a $4 million donation to Children's Hospital Central California in 2006.
She is on the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Marketing and Communications Committee at the Aspen Institute
. In 2009 they announced the opening of a pre-school billed as one of the first to be environmentally friendly in the United States. The same year they also announced plans to bring charter school, Paramount Bard Academy, to the Central Valley. At Caltech's 2009 graduation ceremonies, it was announced that the Resnicks had donated $20 million towards a "sustainability center" to be named after themselves.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and businesswoman. Resnick is married to Stewart A. Resnick, who is also her business partner. Through their holding company
Roll Global
Roll Global is a private corporation based in Los Angeles, California. With revenues of over $2 billion, it functions as a holding company for Stewart and Lynda Resnick, and as such is a vehicle for their personal investments in a number of businesses...
they own the POM Wonderful
POM Wonderful
POM Wonderful, LLC is a privately owned company which markets an eponymous brand of beverages and fruit extracts. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. They are also affiliated with the companies Teleflora, FIJI Water, pesticide...
and FIJI Water
Fiji water
thumb|right|FIJI Water for sale in a deli.FIJI Water is a U.S.-based business and brand of bottled water derived, bottled, and shipped from the Fiji Islands. It is available in 330ml, 500ml, 1 liter and 1.5 liter bottles...
brands, the Teleflora
Teleflora
Teleflora is a floral wire service company which brokers orders to local florists for delivery. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, it offers what it describes as florist-to-florist clearinghouse services; these enable sale and delivery of eligible products to be independent of one another....
floral wire service company, large industrial citrus and nut farms, and other businesses.
Early life
Born in 1944 Lynda Rae Harris, she grew up in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Her father, Jack Harris, worked as a film distributor during the 1950s. Because of her father's occupation, Resnick, at the age of four, had a recurring role on The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour broadcast from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. Resnick graduated from Harriton High School
Harriton High School
Harriton High School is a public secondary school located in Rosemont, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.Harriton is one of two high schools in Lower Merion School District; the other is Lower Merion High School. It used to be a comparatively small high school, containing 889...
. After a brief stint at a local college, Resnick took a job at the in-house ad agency for Sunset House catalog. Resnick founded an advertising agency, Lynda Limited, at the age of 19.
Ellsberg Papers
Resnick, then Sinay, began doing occasional work for the antiwar movement during the Vietnam war era. Her friend, Daniel EllsbergDaniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, asked to use her copy machine on nights and weekends in order to distribute top-secret military documents. Ellsberg gave these documents to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, which then published them. Dubbed the Pentagon Papers
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
, they detailed aspects of the war hidden from the public and damaged the credibility of the Presidents involved. Resnick was designated an un-indicted co-conspirator for her role and pursued by prosecutors for two years. Legal actions were eventually dropped.
Career and Companies
Lynda Resnick has been involved in many companies, as detailed below. Roll International is a Holding CompanyHolding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
which the Resnicks use to facilitate their various business ventures. Notable brands controlled by the Resnicks include POM Wonderful and FIJI Water. They also operate large industrial citrus and nut farms in California. The Resnicks met while he was President of American Protection Industries, Los Angeles, CA, and she was pitching her ad agency to get his business.
Teleflora
Stewart and Lynda Resnick purchased Teleflora in 1979, at which time Lynda left her advertising job to become the company's Executive Vice President of Marketing and eventually president. She introduced "Flowers in a Gift" in 1982, a marketing idea that saw the flowers delivered in a keepsake container which won her a marketing communications award (a gold Effie). Resnick became Teleflora's Chairman in 1986. Still with Teleflora as of 2009, she has been involved with securing flagship TV sponsorship roles. A campaign associated with a recent Mother's DayMother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
special on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
resulted in another Effie win associated with the company. January 2009 saw her company's first Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
advertisement, which was voted one of the best Super Bowl ads by several newspapers, blogs and online fan sites.
Franklin Mint
The Resnicks purchased The Franklin MintFranklin Mint
The Franklin Mint is a private corporation founded by Joseph Segel in 1964. The private mint operated from Wawa, Pennsylvania but that operation has now closed...
in 1984,; Lynda Resnick began directing the company's international marketing efforts, a position she held until 2000. She influenced a new business plan of providing products that delivered "emotional satisfaction", such as the high-end collectible doll business. According to the book "Encyclopedia of American Women in Business" the first run of a Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
(Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
)-inspired doll generated $35 million in sales. Also during her tenure, licensing was arranged for products related to the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
art museum in Paris, the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, board games like Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
and Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, classic cars, and famous people like John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
. Franklin Mint began having some problems in 1997, when Tiger Woods sued the company after it produced a commemorative medal of his win in the 1997 Masters tournament. Franklin Mint paid Woods an undisclosed amount of money to settle the case. In May 1998, the estate of Princess Diana filed a lawsuit to keep Franklin Mint from profiting from the sale of commemorative Princess Di merchandise. The Resnicks sold Franklin Mint in 2006.
POM Wonderful
According to her memoir, she acquired a pistachio orchard that also contained some Wonderful variety pomegranate trees in California's San Joaquin ValleySan Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
. In 1996, intrigued by folklore, she began to sponsor medical research regarding the pomegranate's health effects. By 2000 there was research published with findings regarding effects of regular pomegranate consumption. Lynda Resnick came up with the POM Wonderful logo and her design team developed an hourglass-shape bottle, the company later expanding into other liquid products and pills.
Fiji Water
The Resnicks acquired the FIJI Water business in 2004, after which Lynda supervised marketing that focused on promoting the uniqueness and exotic nature of the water. According to Resnick's book, sales of Fiji Water soon increased by 300% by 2008 becoming the largest imported bottled water brand in the United States. In response to bad publicity regarding the FIJI brand and bottled water in general Resnick introduced a promotional campaign touting an environmental policy and plans for a reduced carbon footprintCarbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
through a series of press releases. Fiji Water laid off 40% of its staff in December, 2008 due to weakening sales.
Personal life
Resnick is married to Stewart Resnick, who is also her business partner. They are parents and grandparents. The couple lives in Beverly Hills and have a home in AspenAspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. They are also involved in philanthropy. In 2009 a business/personal memoir she co-authored was published.
Philanthropy
Resnick is Vice Chairman of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Board of Trustees, as well as the Chair of the Acquisitions Committee and the Executive Committee. She is also a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
. In September 2008, she and her husband announced a $45 million gift to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the construction of a new exhibition pavilion as well as $10 million in artworks.
She is on the Executive Board of the UCLA Medical Sciences; the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation , formerly known as CaP CURE, is the world’s largest philanthropic source of support for prostate cancer research. PCF was founded in 1993 in order to discover better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer...
and the Milken Family Foundation. In 2005 a UCLA operated Neuropsychiatric Hospital was named for Resnick and her husband in honor of their involvement. They made a $4 million donation to Children's Hospital Central California in 2006.
She is on the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Marketing and Communications Committee at the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
. In 2009 they announced the opening of a pre-school billed as one of the first to be environmentally friendly in the United States. The same year they also announced plans to bring charter school, Paramount Bard Academy, to the Central Valley. At Caltech's 2009 graduation ceremonies, it was announced that the Resnicks had donated $20 million towards a "sustainability center" to be named after themselves.