- Push-out Score determined
- After almost 12 years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Sullivan
- Jay Schmidt taking over
- Sullivan will remain as executive chairman at Caleres
- Sullivan spoke at length and said 143 words
(exechange) — St. Louis, Missouri, July 25, 2022 — Diane Sullivan, chief executive of Caleres, leaves her position. As announced by Caleres Inc. in a news release on Monday, July 25, 2022, Diane M. Sullivan leaves her post as chief executive officer at the footwear company, after almost 12 years in the role, effective January 15, 2023.
Diane Sullivan’s duties as CEO will be taken over by John W. (Jay) Schmidt, currently president at Caleres Inc.
“Culmination of a long-scheduled and carefully planned succession process”
Diane Sullivan’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Caleres said: “Today’s announcement represents the culmination of a long-scheduled and carefully planned succession process led and executed by the company’s Board of Directors.”
Sullivan will remain as executive chairman at Caleres
“Diane Sullivan, who has served as chief executive officer for more than a decade, will retire as chief executive officer of Caleres on January 15, 2023, and will assume the role of executive chairman,” Caleres said.
Share price increase since July 2019
The announcement follows an increase in Caleres Inc.’s share price of 38% since July 2019.
In the position of CEO since 2011
Diane Sullivan became CEO of the Company in 2011.
As Executive Chairman, Sullivan will continue to lead the Caleres Board of Directors as well as partner with Schmidt and the rest of the Caleres leadership team on key strategic initiatives.
Sullivan is the Company’s CEO and Chairman of the Board.
She joined the Company as president in 2004 and added chief operating officer to her responsibilities in 2006. She became chief executive officer and president in 2011 and took on the additional role of Chairman of the Board beginning in 2014.
Prior to joining the company, she was Vice Chairman of the Footwear Group at Phillips-Van Heusen from 2001-2003. Sullivan also served as President and COO of The Stride Rite Corporation where she worked from 1995-2001 and prior to that gained extensive consumer brand management and sales expertise at several companies including M&M/Mars and The Mennen Company.
Sullivan’s philanthropic passion for the shoe industry, gender parity, education, and healthcare was celebrated in 2017 when she received the Footwear News Icon Award for Social Impact.
She has been recognized by the Women’s Forum of New York for her commitment to gender parity, with more than 50 percent women on the Caleres Board of Directors.
Sullivan serves on the Board of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation and was one of the founders of Two Ten’s Women in the Footwear Industry community (WIFI).
She serves on the board of Enterprise Holdings and the Gateway Arch Park Foundation.
She is also an active member of Greater St. Louis Inc., an organization of business and civic leaders working to create jobs, expand inclusive economic growth and improve the St. Louis region’s global competitiveness, and CEO’s Against Cancer of Missouri.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Diane Sullivan’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Caleres and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 31.2022 ($).