Brown Shoe Company, Inc. Names Sheri Wilson-Gray Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
ST. LOUIS, May 24, 2007 – Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS, www.brownshoe.com) appointed Sheri Wilson-Gray to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, effective June 4, 2007. In this newly created role, she will focus on strategic brand development and be responsible for directing marketing communications, consumer research, public relations and the licensing of Brown Shoe brands.“We are particularly excited about finding someone with such broad-based abilities that complement our business model so well,” said Brown Shoe President and Chief Operating Officer Diane Sullivan. “Sheri’s strong experience in retail, wholesale, fashion and classic marketing will be important assets as we continue to grow. We look forward to her partnering with our organizations’ presidents in developing our brands and continuing to strengthen our progressing marketing competencies.”
Wilson-Gray joins Brown Shoe from Island Global Yachting, where she has served as Executive Vice President, Marketing since 2005. In that role, she was responsible for developing all branding and marketing initiatives for the company. Prior to that, she held the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Saks Fifth Avenue. Wilson-Gray’s background also includes brand marketing responsibilities in various capacities with Victoria Creations, Inc., Monet, Chesebrough-Pond’s, Inc., Playtex International and Procter and Gamble. She began her retail career at Federated Department Stores, Inc.
Wilson-Gray holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Retailing and a Master of Science degree in Management from Purdue University. She also serves on the board of directors for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York.
About Brown Shoe
Brown Shoe is a $2.5 billion footwear company with global operations. Brown Shoe’s Retail division operates Famous Footwear, the 1,000-store chain that sells brand name shoes for the family; approximately 300 specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada under the Naturalizer, FX LaSalle, and Franco Sarto names; and Shoes.com, the Company's e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe, through its Wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Dr. Scholl's, Etienne Aigner, and Carlos by Carlos Santana and Barbie, Disney and Nickelodeon character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's website at http://www.brownshoe.com.