PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) today announced the appointment of Suja Chandrasekaran to the company's board of directors as an independent director, effective Monday, March 19, 2018. Ms. Chandrasekaran brings extensive experience in retail and consumer products industries to the AEO board, drawing upon past executive leadership positions at Walmart Stores Inc., The Timberland Company, as well as her current leadership role at Kimberly-Clark. Her appointment returns the AEO board to seven members.
“Suja brings vast information and digital technology expertise and a wealth of leadership experience in the global retail and consumer industries to our team. We are excited to welcome her to the board and look forward to her insights and fresh perspective as we continue our strong momentum and further enhance our customer connectivity and digital capabilities,” said Jay Schottenstein, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
The depth of Ms. Chandrasekaran’s background includes serving in executive leadership positions for several consumer retailers including Senior VP/Global Chief Technology and Data Officer at Walmart Stores Inc., Senior VP/Global Chief Information Officer at The Timberland Company, and C-level roles leading technology at PepsiCo and Nestle. Presently, she is Chief Information Officer at Kimberly-Clark, one of the world’s leading consumer packaged goods business. She also serves on the board of directors of Symphony Technology Group.
Ms. Chandrasekaran holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Madras, India and a Master of Business Systems from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has executive development education from London Business School.
About American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is a leading global specialty retailer offering high-quality, on-trend clothing, accessories and personal care products at affordable prices under its American Eagle Outfitters® and Aerie® brands. The company operates more than 1,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and Hong Kong, and ships to 81 countries worldwide through its websites. American Eagle Outfitters and Aerie merchandise also is available at more than 200 international locations operated by licensees in 25 countries. For more information, please visit www.ae.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
This release and related statements by management contain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events, including Fiscal 2018 results. All forward-looking statements made by the company involve material risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on many important factors, some of which may be beyond the company’s control. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," “potential,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise and even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized. The following factors, in addition to the risks disclosed in Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017 and in any subsequently-filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, the company's financial performance and could cause actual results for Fiscal 2018 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of the forward-looking statements included in this release or otherwise made by management: the risk that the company’s operating, financial and capital plans may not be achieved; our inability to anticipate customer demand and changing fashion trends and to manage our inventory commensurately; seasonality of our business; our inability to achieve planned store financial performance; our inability to react to raw material cost, labor and energy cost increases; our inability to gain market share in the face of declining shopping center traffic; our inability to respond to changes in e-commerce and leverage omni-channel demands; our inability to expand internationally; difficulty with our international merchandise sourcing strategies; challenges with information technology systems, including safeguarding against security breaches; and changes in global economic and financial conditions, and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, as well as other changes in consumer discretionary spending habits, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity.