Chico’s FAS, a great friend and supporter of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle, was one of 32 companies honored last week by the Women Executive Leadership organization of Florida at its 2017 Corporate Salute Elevate Awards for the advancement of gender diversity in the boardroom and the C-suite. The nonprofit organization reviews regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to evaluate the number of women on boards and in executive positions.

Shelley Broader, president, CEO and board member of Chico’s — and a speaker at the Women in Retail Leadership Summit in 2016 and 2017 — said in a statement: “Chico’s FAS is a business that serves women, and we recognize the importance of ensuring that women play critical leadership roles at board and executive levels. We’re proud to have a female majority on our board and to have 80 percent female representation within our executive team.”

In addition to Broader, Chico’s executive team includes women holding the positions of general counsel; brand president for the individual Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma brands; chief information officer; chief human resources officer; and senior vice president for store operations. In addition, the vice president for investor relations, public relations and corporate communications is a woman. Chico’s board of directors also has four women members in addition to Broader, including Bonnie R. Brooks, Janice L. Fields, Deborah L. Kerr, and  Andrea M. Weiss.

Among the other companies honored by the Women Executive Leadership organization were AutoNation Inc., Carnival Corp., Office Depot, HSN Inc., Tupperware Brands Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., National Retail Properties Inc., and Bankrate Inc.

Congrats to all of these great Florida-based companies with women leaders!

Enjoy!
Melissa Campanelli
Co-Founder
Women in Retail Leadership Circle

P.S.: We had another great Girl Talks event on Monday night in San Francisco. Our speakers included Jenny Ming, president and CEO of apparel retail chain Charlotte Russe; and Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient and creator of The Girls’ Lounge. Both speakers were inspiring, entertaining and full of wisdom! We will be posting podcast episodes from the event in the Inner Circle in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!