Macy’s Inc. Adds Emilie Arel of Casper Sleep to Its Board
Macy’s Inc. has appointed Emilie Arel, president and chief executive officer of Casper Sleep, to its board.
With the addition of Arel, Macy’s has 14 members on its board. Arel will serve on the nominating and corporate governance committee.
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“Emile brings two decades of impressive, digital-first and brick-and-mortar retail experience to our board, including leading the digital transformation at FullBeauty Brands and implementing Casper’s omnichannel strategy to drive consistency for consumers,” Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy’s Inc., said in a statement Tuesday. “Emilie’s experience putting customers at the center of the shopping experience will benefit our board and the broader organization as we continue to provide Macy’s Inc. shoppers with a more personalized and immersive brand experience.”
Paul Varga, Macy’s Inc.’s lead independent director, added: “We are confident Emilie’s insights, retail merchandising expertise and proven ability to maximize the customer experience will be a valuable addition to our board as we engage both new and existing customers with our leading assortment of categories, products and brands via our omnichannel ecosystem.”
The 44-year-old Arel said at Macy’s she will be leveraging her omnichannel retail experience “to build on the momentum the company has achieved in recent years.”
Prior to Casper Sleep, Arel served as CEO of FullBeauty Brands, a plus-size apparel company, where she led the business through a debt restructuring and a digital transformation.
Earlier, she served as the CEO of Quidsi, an Amazon company with 10 brands, including Diapers.com and Soap.com; held merchandising and licensing positions at Gap Inc., and various roles at Target Corp.
Macy’s said its board of directors reached gender parity for the first time in 2015. Half of the members of the board are female. Also, 29 percent of the board are non-white with two African-American members, one Asian-American member and one Hispanic/Latino member. Additionally, Jeff Gennette is one of the very few openly gay CEOs in the Fortune 500.
The other board members are Francis S. Blake, Torrence Boone, John A. Bryant, Ashley Buchanan, Marie Chandoha, Deirdre P. Connelly, Jill Granoff, Leslie D. Hale, William H. Lenehan, Sara Levinson, Paul C. Varga, and Tracey Zhen.
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