NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the fifth consecutive time, Caleres (NYSE: CAL) was honored by the Women’s Forum of New York at its seventh biennial Breakfast of Corporate Champions for achieving gender parity on its board. With a representation of 55 percent women on its board, Caleres was applauded as a Corporate Champion that is making special efforts to advance women in the boardroom. Caleres was one of 78 companies recognized as a Corporate Champion out of the 233 companies in attendance to have achieved or exceeded gender parity on its board.
“Speaking on behalf of the entire team at Caleres, we’re truly honored to receive this recognition again from the Women’s Forum,” said Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres. “Our focus at Caleres is to have our leadership reflect our consumers, and the work began seven years ago and continues to this day. I’m fortunate to work with a supportive board where each member contributes with their unique perspective and experience. This also has had a significant, positive impact on our company and our consumers.”
Caleres currently has six women on its board of 11. The company added two additional female members to its board in 2017 to reach 55 percent, which was up from 40 percent in 2016. Caleres was most recently recognized at this biennial event in 2021 when it was one of 44 companies out of 240+ recognized for achieving or exceeding gender parity on its board.
The women on the Caleres Board of Directors are:
- Diane Sullivan, executive chairman and former president and CEO of Caleres
- Lisa Flavin, chief compliance officer and senior vice president of audit, Emerson
- Brenda Freeman, founder and principal, Joyeux Advisory Group
- Lori Greeley, chief executive officer, Serena and Lily
- Carla Hendra, global CEO of growth and innovation, Ogilvy
- Wenda Harris Millard, former vice chairman at MediaLink
Launched in 2011, the Breakfast of Corporate Champions is the signature event of the Women’s Forum of New York’s “Corporate Board Initiative,” focused on accelerating the advancement of women on boards across all industries and on striving to achieve gender balance on corporate boards by 2025. To achieve this goal, the Women’s Forum is driving change from the top by convening and honoring CEOs and board leadership and acknowledging their pivotal role in prioritizing gender parity as a business imperative.
“We are enormously proud of the work we have done to accelerate and celebrate female board representation since launching the Breakfast of Corporate Champions over a decade ago,” said BCC chair and founder, Janice Reals Ellig, CEO, Ellig Group. “We know more needs to be done and will continue our strong focus as we look forward to growing the number of S&P 500 and Fortune 1000 companies achieving gender balance.”
The Breakfast of Corporate Champion’s Honorary Co-Chairs were Brian Moynihan, chair of the board and CEO of Bank of America and Maggie Wilderotter, chairman and CEO of Wilderotter Vinyard.
About Caleres
Caleres is a market-leading portfolio of global footwear brands that includes Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer, Vionic, and more. Our products are available virtually everywhere - in the nearly 1,000 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. Combined, these brands make Caleres a company with both a legacy and a mission. Our legacy is our more than 140 years of craftsmanship and our passion for fit, while our mission is to continue to inspire people to feel great… feet first. Visit caleres.com to learn more about us.
About Women’s Forum of New York
The Women’s Forum of New York is a network of women leaders representing the highest levels of professional achievement across all sectors of business, industry, and spheres of influence throughout New York City. The by-invitation membership of more than 500 women is dedicated to the advancement of women's leadership through programs which personally and professionally enrich members' lives, including The Education Fund, which enables talented women whose potential has been disrupted by adversity to resume their education, and 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 founding flagship of the International Women's Forum, a global organization of over 8000 outstanding women leaders and, currently, 76 Forums around the world.
