Fudge was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and attended the city's Catholic schools[citation needed] through 12th grade.
... She grew up middle class in Washington, the first of two children born to a mother who was a manager at the National Security Agency and a father who was an administrator at the Postal Service.
"[1] Fudge is a graduate of Simmons College and Harvard Business School,[2] earning respectively BA (honors) in retail management, 1973; and MBA, 1977.
"[1] Discussing her educational choices with Business Week in 2004, she said, "When I was at Simmons College, I had this great professor – Margaret Hennig.
[5] In 1998, Fudge was named by Fortune magazine as 30th on the 50 Most Influential Women in American Business list (Carly Fiorina No.
She also at the time sat on the boards of AlliedSignal, Liz Claiborne, (both as of 1993)[1] and Catalyst, Inc.[6] In 2001, after a year as president of the beverages et al. division at Kraft, "Fudge decided to retire.
She had had a goal of retiring before age 50; she had dealt with the recent illness and death of her parents, some close friends and relatives.
"[citation needed] Following the sabbatical, Fudge was chair and chief executive officer of Young & Rubicam Brands from 2003 to 2007.
In 2004, Business Week summed up some of the challenges facing her, saying Y&R "has suffered through poor management and a messy merger in recent years.
[10] In June 2011, it was announced that Fudge would join the board of Indian technology and outsourcing company Infosys on October 1, 2011, as an Additional Director.
[10] Fudge was at the time the sole woman on the board, and was recruited by retiring founder NR Narayana Murthy and nominations committee chair Jeffrey S. Lehman.
[11] In September 2011, Fudge was one of six Hall of Fame honorees named in advance of the National Association of Corporate Directors November gala in New York City.
[13] In early 2010, Fudge was named by President Obama to the 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, a bipartisan panel chaired by former Senator Alan K. Simpson, (R-WY), and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles (D).
'"[1] Fudge is also noted for having pursued her career despite the glass ceiling which has been seen to thwart promotion to the top ranks, facing women and minorities in the corporate workforce particularly.
[1] And, in regards Fudge's relatively early moves out of jobs, the 2004 Business Week article also included a sidebar on four "other women [who] left high-powered positions in the corporate world to find a place where they could work on their own terms.