Nu Skin International marked the beginning of this week with the demolition of properties next to its downtown Provo high-rise office to make way for construction of the Nu Skin Innovation Center.

Cosmetics company Avon Products Inc has suspended four executives over bribery charges and is probing possible corruption in additional countries, besides its initial focus on China. In a regulatory filing, the company said, "In connection with the internal investigation, certain personnel actions have been taken, including the termination of four individuals." The four suspended executives include the former general manager for China, former head of corporate affairs for China, former head of finance for China and former head of global internal audit and security, who was previously head of finance for the Asia-Pacific. The four executives are accused of improper spending, including the provision of gifts and entertainment to Chinese government officials in exchange for licenses and contracts.

Herbalife welcomes Carole Black and Michael J. Levitt to its board of directors. Black is the former president and chief executive officer of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a multi-media brand for women, including Lifetime Network, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women Network, Lifetime Online and Lifetime Home Entertainment, where she held the position from March 1999 to March 2005. Prior to that, Black served as the president and general manager of NBC4, Los Angeles, a commercial television station, from 1994 to 1999, and in various marketing-related positions at The Walt Disney Company, a media and entertainment company, from 1986 to 1993. She has served as a director of Time Warner Cable Inc. since July 2006.

The former Federation of European Direct Selling Associations – FEDSA at its recent conference voted in favour of a name change and rebranding. The Association from now on goes by the name of seldia – The European Direct Selling Association and has relaunched its website with a new visual identity.

Mary Kay Inc. and members of the Mary Kay independent sales force, in partnership with Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, descended upon Massachusetts State House to raise awareness among lawmakers about the importance of crucial funding for sexual and domestic violence prevention and intervention services statewide. Mary Kay is painting Boston Pink to share the message that Massachusetts needs the commitment of lawmakers for funding these critical programs. Participants educated lawmakers about the need to restore funding to 2009 levels in order to support life-saving counseling, shelter, support groups, education, prevention programs and other advocacy services.

Ampegy LLC, the network marketing channel of Spark Energy, announced Todd Thoman as President. Mr. Thoman will bring a unique blend of sales, marketing, and energy industry experience and community relations expertise to the role. This move comes just as Ampegy is completing its launch phase, which included successful kick-off events in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Manhattan which in-turn set the stage for an outstanding Lift Off Event in The Woodlands, Texas.

The nutrition and weight management giant Herbalife International has recently bought iChange, a nutrition and health network. iChange, which admits to being built on the same principles as AA and Weight Watchers, offers a network of resources and community of users, all toward the end of losing weight and living healthier. Its online weightloss community will be used by Herbalife's independent distributors to provide wellness coaching to clients.

Nu Skin Enterprises announced that it has received official notification from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce of its approval to commence direct selling activities in four additional provinces and one municipality in mainland China. The provinces include Zhejiang, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shandong and the municipality of Tianjin. This is the fourth round of licenses granted to Nu Skin in China and adds to existing approvals in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.