ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Caleres (NYSE: CAL) and Diane Sullivan were honored by the Women’s Forum of New York at the fourth biennial Breakfast of Corporate Champions for achieving at least 25 percent female representation on their board. The company, which has a representation of 55 percent women on their board, was applauded as a corporate game changer who is making special efforts to advance women in the boardroom.
“The days of selecting a homogeneous board is antiquated and for good reason,” said Sullivan. “The insights and perspectives we gain from diversifying our board, up to 55 percent this year, will help to propel us into the new and fast-changing global consumer landscape. It’s an honor to again be recognized by the Women’s Forum of New York.”
Caleres added two additional female members to their board in 2017: Brenda Freeman and Wenda Harris Millard. These new appointments lead to Caleres being recognized as having 55 percent of their board seats held by women, up from 40 percent in 2016.
Seven women sit on the Caleres Board of Directors including:
- Brenda Freeman, chief marketing officer at MagicLeap
- Lori Greeley, chief executive officer at Serena and Lily
- Carla Hendra, global chairman of OgilvyRED
- Patricia G. McGinnis, professor of practice at George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
- Wenda Harris Millard, vice chairman at MediaLink
- Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Caleres
“We congratulate Caleres and their work towards achieving a greater gender balance in their boardroom,” said Janice Reals Ellig, CEO, The Ellig Group and Chair of the event. “Caleres knows that more women on boards is smart business and their continued success is an inspiration to others."
The event brought together an audience of over 600, including CEOs and Board Directors along with business leaders, government officials, thought leaders and influential media in special recognition of forward-thinking companies.
This year's Breakfast of Corporate Champions kicked off with a call to action from tennis legend Billie Jean King, who founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Intiative with Teneo four years ago, to foster more inclusive leadership including more representation of women and diversity in corporate America. The highest honor, the Muriel F. Siebert Leadership Award, will be presented to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, for under her leadership, the company became the first major industrial corporation to achieve gender parity on its board.
The awards presentation was followed by three executive panel discussions moderated by highly respected reporters in the media industry. Rebecca Jarvis of ABC News moderated the Gender Diversity Creates Shareholder Value panel, Susan Chira of The New York Times moderated the Getting to Parity by 2025 panel and Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC moderated the CEO Panel: CEO Game Changers. Each panel discussed details about why and how top U.S. companies can be game changers who make real progress in the path to parity. This year’s program concluded with a keynote by Ronald P. O’Hanley, President and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, encouraging attendees and associated companies to take action in the path to gender parity by 2025.
For more information on about Caleres please visit www.caleres.com. Or to learn more about the Women's Forum of New York and the Women's Forum CEO-Sponsored Database, please visit https://www.womensforumny.org/.
ABOUT CALERES
Caleres is a diverse portfolio of global footwear brands. Our products are available virtually everywhere - in the over 1,200 retail stores we operate, in hundreds of major department and specialty stores, on our branded e-commerce sites, and on many additional third-party retail websites. Famous Footwear and Famous.com serve as our Family brands. Our Contemporary Fashion brands include Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Franco Sarto, Vince, Via Spiga, George Brown Bilt, Diane von Furstenberg, Fergie Footwear and Carlos Santana. Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's Shoes, LifeStride, Bzees and Rykä represent our Healthy Living brands. Combined, these brands help make Caleres a company with both a legacy and a mission. Our legacy is our more than 130-years of craftsmanship, our passion for fit and our business savvy, while our mission is to continue to inspire people to feel good…feet first. Visit caleres.com to learn more about us.
About the Women's Forum of New York
The Women’s Forum of New York is the city’s premier organization of women leaders. The invitation-only membership of more than 500 women, representing the highest levels of achievement across all professional sectors from finance to fine arts, is dedicated to the advancement of women’s leadership through programs which enrich members lives personally and professionally, through The Education Fund which enables talented women whose potential has been disrupted by extreme adversity to resume their education, and through the Corporate Board Initiative, which extends and expands the contribution of women leaders through corporate board participation. Founded in 1974, the Women's Forum of New York is the flagship of the International Women's Forum, a global organization of over 6500 outstanding women leaders in over 74 Forums around the world.
