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Macy's, Inc. Announces Executive Management Changes

By: Jan. 28, 2013
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Macy's, Inc. announced a series of changes to its senior executive leadership team, effective immediately.

"These adjustments to our senior leadership team provide continuity and strengthen our ability to innovate as we work to maximize results in the years ahead from our core business strategies, including My Macy's localization, omnichannel alignment, and customer engagement."

Thomas L. Cole is retiring as Macy's, Inc.'s chief administrative officer after an exceptional 41-year career with Macy's, Inc. and its predecessor companies. He will remain with the company through May 2013 to affect a smooth transition to several other executives. His responsibilities have been re-assigned as follows:

  • William S. Allen has joined Macy's, effective today, as chief human resources officer. Allen, a seasoned corporate human resources executive who previously served as senior vice president of AP Moller-Maersk A/S, joins the Macy's executive committee and reports to Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer. Allen will oversee Macy's, Inc.'s human resources, diversity strategies, and corporate communications and external affairs functions. In addition, Allen will have administrative responsibility for the law function that reports directly to Lundgren.
  • Robert B. Harrison, previously Macy's executive vice president for omnichannel strategy, is assuming the newly-created role of chief omnichannel officer, reporting to Lundgren. He also will join the company's executive committee. In addition to his existing role managing the development of strategies to closely integrate the company's stores, online and mobile activities, Harrison will assume responsibility for systems and technology, logistics and related operating functions.
  • Karen M. Hoguet, Macy's, Inc. chief financial officer, will assume additional responsibility for credit and customer services, real estate, non-merchandise purchasing and sustainability. All of the company's finance and accounting functions report to Hoguet. In addition, she will have administrative responsibility for the internal audit function that reports directly to Lundgren. Hoguet is a member of the Macy's executive committee and reports to Lundgren.
  • Peter Sachse, Macy's chief stores officer, will assume additional responsibility for store planning, design and construction. The company's nationwide portfolio of Macy's stores, as well as the region, district and central stores organization and visual merchandising, continue to report to Sachse. He is a member of the Macy's executive committee and reports to Lundgren.

"Our company remains on a path of continuous improvement and growth, and the foundation of our success is the strength of talent at every level of our organization," Lundgren said. "These adjustments to our senior leadership team provide continuity and strengthen our ability to innovate as we work to maximize results in the years ahead from our core business strategies, including My Macy's localization, omnichannel alignment, and customer engagement.

"Our company and I owe a great debt of gratitude for the skill and leadership of Tom Cole in guiding the company's operations and key corporate functions through periods of unprecedented change. Tom's influence has been particularly profound over the past seven years as we integrated the acquisition of The May Department Stores Company, migrated to the nationwide Macy's brand, developed new business and organization structures, aggressively pursued our omnichannel vision and improved our customer shopping experience. Tom played a key role in these subjects and many, many more. While we wish Tom continued health and happiness in the next chapter of his life, I am confident in knowing that ours is a better and stronger company today because of his exceptional work over the past four decades," Lundgren said.

Executive Bios

Tom Cole, 64, began his career in 1972 at Allied Stores Corporation (later combined with Federated Department Stores, Inc., the corporate predecessor of Macy's, Inc.). He joined Federated in 1980 as vice president/controller of the company's then -I. Magnin division in California. From 1983-87, Cole was senior vice president/finance and administration at Federated Merchandising Group (FMG). He moved to the Lazarus department store division as senior vice president/financial services in 1987 and from 1988-95 served as president of FMG. He was named chairman of Federated Logistics & Operations in 1995 and assumed additional responsibilities for the Federated Systems Group (FSG) in 2001 and Federated's Financial, Administrative and Credit Services (FACS) division in 2002. Cole was elected a vice chair of Macy's, Inc. in 2003 and served in this role until 2009 when he was appointed chief administrative officer. A native of St. Louis, MO, Cole is a graduate of Kent State University.

Bill Allen, 55, most recently was senior vice president for global human resources at AP Moller-Maersk A/S, a large and diverse company with interests in transportation and energy businesses based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He joined that company in 2003 as senior vice president for human resources and communications in New Jersey before moving to Copenhagen in a global role in 2006. Previously, he served in senior-level human resources roles at Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings from 1997 to 2003 and at the Pizza Hut and Frito-Lay divisions of PepsiCo. from 1985 to 1997. Allen began his career at RCA Corporation. A native of Scotch Plains, NJ, he holds a bachelor's degree in business from Auburn University and a master's degree in industrial and labor relations from the University of North Texas. Allen will be relocating to the New York City area.

R. B. Harrison, 49, has served as Macy's executive vice president for omnichannel strategy since July 2012, having previously been executive vice president for finance since 2011, president for stores since 2009 and president and chief operating officer of Macy's West since 2008. Harrison became president and chief operating officer of Macy's Northwest in February 2006 following Macy's, Inc.'s acquisition of May Company. Previously, he had been chairman of Robinsons-May since October 2004, having served as the division's senior vice president and chief financial officer since June 2002, as well as the senior vice president for finance of the Meier & Frank division before it was merged with Robinsons-May. A native of Pittsburgh, Harrison began his career at the Kaufmann's division in 1986 as an accounting analyst and served in positions of increasing responsibility before becoming vice president and controller of Kaufmann's. Harrison holds a degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in the New York City area.

Karen Hoguet, 56, has served as Macy's, Inc.'s chief financial officer since 1997. Upon joining the company in 1982 from the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, she served as a senior consultant in marketing and long-range planning from 1982-85 before being named director of capital and business planning. Hoguet was named operating vice president of planning and financial analysis in 1987, elected a corporate vice president in 1988 and as senior vice president of planning in 1991. She added the title of corporate treasurer a year later, and subsequently assumed responsibility for tax, accounting and other financial functions. A native of Cincinnati and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, Hoguet received a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University. She lives in Cincinnati.

Peter Sachse, 54, was named Macy's chief stores officer in February 2012. He previously was Macy's chief marketing officer since February 2009, along with serving as chairman and CEO of macys.com since April 2006. He was president of Macy's Corporate Marketing from 2003 to 2006. Prior to serving in these roles, Sachse was president and chief operating officer of The Bon Marché in Seattle. He began his retail career with Macy's in Kansas City and was a division merchandise manager at Macy's/Bullock's in Atlanta. He was also executive vice president/general merchandise manager at Macy's East and was later promoted to vice chair/director of stores of Macy's East. A native of Sheboygan, WI, Sachse lives in the New York City area. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2011 sales of $26.4 billion. The company operates about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also operates 12 Bloomingdale's Outlet stores. Bloomingdale's in Dubai is operated by Al Tayer Group LLC under a license agreement.

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Macy's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this release because of a variety of factors, including conditions to, or changes in the timing of, proposed transactions, prevailing interest rates, changes in expected synergies, cost savings and non-recurring charges, competitive pressures from specialty stores, general merchandise stores, manufacturers' outlets, off-price and discount stores, new and established forms of home shopping (including the Internet, mail-order catalogs and television) and general consumer spending levels, including the impact of the availability and level of consumer debt, the effect of weather and other factors identified in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.







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