Following its annual shareholders' meeting today at 11 a.m. Central
Daylight Time, Diane M. Sullivan has assumed the role of President and
Chief Executive Officer of Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS, www.brownshoe.com.)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110526/CG09809)
The company announced in January its promotion of Sullivan, who
previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer. She steps
into the role today following a four-month transition period from
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ronald A. Fromm. Fromm remains
Brown Shoe's Chairman of the Board.
"In my first few months I am prioritizing the identification of
opportunities to strengthen the alignment of our businesses with our key
consumer focus areas of healthy living, contemporary fashion and family
- and in doing so increase our connection with customers and drive
shareholder value. Together with my leadership team and the tremendous
Brown Shoe talent around the globe, I'm committed to building on our
great foundation to further the momentum of the past year as we inspire
people to feel good and live better, feet first," said Sullivan.
Sullivan joined Brown Shoe in 2004 as President, adding the role of
Chief Operating Officer in 2006, and was first elected to Brown Shoe's
Board of Directors in 2007. Sullivan has served as the architect of the
company's brand strategy, driving enhancements including the growth of
Famous Footwear to $1.5 billion; the recent acquisition of athletic
footwear maker American Sporting Goods, which added strength in
performance athletics with leading brands Avia®, ryka® and AND 1®; the
development of a $250 million contemporary footwear business with brands
including Via Spiga®, Sam Edelman® and Vera Wang Lavender(TM); and the
evolution of flagship women's brand Naturalizer® to a global
multichannel business. She drove investments in Brown Shoe's global
sourcing network, product development and design talent, resulting in
design and technology innovations that create an even better footwear
experience for consumers.
Before joining Brown Shoe, Sullivan served as Vice Chairman of the
Footwear Group for Phillips-Van Heusen from 2001 to 2004. She
established herself in the footwear industry at a pair of leading
companies, serving as President and Chief Operating Officer for Stride
Rite Corporation, where she worked from 1995 until 2001, and, prior to
that, as Vice President, Product and Marketing for The Rockport Company.
About Brown Shoe Company, Inc.
Brown Shoe is a $2.7 billion global footwear company. Brown Shoe's
Retail division operates Famous Footwear, a leading family branded
footwear destination with over 1,100 stores nationwide and e-commerce
site FamousFootwear.com, approximately 250 specialty retail stores in
the U.S., Canada, and China primarily under the Naturalizer brand name,
and footwear e-tailer shoes.com. Through its wholesale divisions, Brown
Shoe designs and markets leading fashion and athletic footwear brands
including Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's, LifeStride, Sam Edelman, Franco
Sarto, Via Spiga, Etienne Aigner, Vera Wang Lavender, Avia, ryka, AND 1,
and Buster Brown. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the
Company's website at http://www.brownshoe.com/.
