Retired; formerly President and Chief Executive Officer, Steelcase Design Partnership
William P. Crawford is a member of the board of directors for Steelcase Inc., a position he was elected to in 1979. Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry, delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Bill retired in May 2000 with 34 years of service. Since 1991, he was president and chief executive officer of the Steelcase Design Partnership, a group of six design-oriented companies serving the contract and residential furnishings markets. Member companies include Brayton International, DesignTex, Details, JM Lynne Co., Inc., Metro, Vecta and Wigand. In his nine-year tenure, the SDP increased in sales and profitability by 300 percent, introduced 200 new products and became an important component of Steelcase Inc.'s growth strategy.
From 1986 until 1991, Bill was president of Stow Davis, a premier manufacturer of fine wood furniture. He joined Stow Davis in 1985 as vice president of operations, shortly after the company was acquired by Steelcase Inc.
Bill began his career with Steelcase in 1965 as a time study engineer. He subsequently held positions in industrial engineering and plant management before joining Stow Davis.
Bill attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he studied history and psychology.
James P. Hackett is president and chief executive officer and director of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
The company and its subsidiaries serve their customers through a network of over 600 independent dealers and have approximately 13,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 revenue was $3.2 billion.
Jim oversees all operations of Steelcase Inc., including domestic and international operations.
Jim was named president and chief executive officer of Steelcase Inc. in December 1994. Previously, Jim served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Steelcase North America, a position he was named to in August 1994.
In April 1994, Jim was named executive vice president of Steelcase Ventures. He was responsible for the design and development of products for non-contract furniture industry customers in addition to developing new company opportunities.
In August 1993, Jim was named president of Turnstone, a Steelcase company created exclusively to meet the office furnishing needs of small businesses and home offices. The Turnstone model, designed to service new ways in which people do their work, was unique in the contract furniture industry.
In 1990, Jim was named Steelcase's senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. He joined Steelcase in 1981 and held a variety of sales and marketing positions in the company, including regional manager in Houston, Texas, in 1984 and director of national accounts from 1986 to 1990. Before joining Steelcase, Jim held sales and management positions at Procter & Gamble in Detroit, Michigan, from 1977 to 1981.
Jim serves on the board of directors for Northwestern Mutual Life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the boards of advisors to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan. Additionally, he is a past president of the Institute of Design Board of Overseers at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Jim graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in general studies.
Member of the Executive Committee
Earl D. Holton
Retired; formerly Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Meijer, Inc.
Earl D. Holton is a member of the board of directors at Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Earl joined the board of Steelcase Inc. in 1998 and served as chair of the board from 1999-2003.
Since the 1950s, Earl has worked in operations and management positions at Meijer, Inc., a Grand Rapids-based corporation comprised of supercenter stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. He managed various stores, becoming store director in 1955, district director in 1960 and operations manager in 1961. Earl was appointed senior vice president in 1973 and named president in 1980. He retired from this position in 1999.
Earl is a member of the Executive Committee of Frederik Meijer Gardens and the Grand Valley University Foundation Board. He also serves as a trustee of the Steelcase Foundation and as vice chair of the Spectrum Health System Board.
Earl's community activities have included past service as Trustee of Albion College and Grand Valley State University and as a director of Goodwill Industries. He has also served as general chairman of United Way of Kent County. In 1997, he was inducted into the Grand Rapids Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame and is a recipient of an honorary doctorate degree in business administration from Grand Valley State University.
a General Partner, Bridge Street Capital Fund I, L.P.
Michael J. Jandernoa is a member of the board of directors of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Mike is a founder and organizer of Bridge Street Capital Fund I, L.P., a venture capital fund in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has served as a general partner at the fund since its inception in April 2004. In this role, he is responsible for raising money for the fund and monitoring its investments, as well as operating the management company engaged to operate the fund.
Previously, Mike was chairman of the board of directors at Perrigo Company, the nation's largest manufacturer of store-brand, over-the-counter pharmaceutical and nutritional products. He served in this capacity from 1991 until 2003, during which time he and his team led Perrigo from a regional, family-owned business to a national, publicly held company, and from annual sales of $24 million to $800 million.
Mike joined Perrigo in 1979 as the company's CFO and was appointed president in 1983. In 1988 he became CEO, a position he held through 2000.
Mike also serves on the Board of Directors of Perrigo Company; Fifth Third Bank, a Michigan banking corporation; Strategic Economic Investment and Commercialization Board (SEIC); Grand Angels; Grand Valley University Foundation; Hope Network Foundation; and the Van Andel Institute. He also serves on various other business and advisory boards, as well as numerous community boards and committees.
Mike earned a bachelor of arts degree in business and accounting from the University of Michigan. He was a certified public accountant early in his career.
President and Chief Executive Officer, CMS Energy Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer, Consumers Energy Company
David W. Joos is a member of the board of directors of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
David is currently president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of CMS Energy Corporation, responsible for overall management of CMS and its Consumers Energy unit. Consumers Energy is one the nation's largest combination gas and electric utilities. David was appointed to this role in October 2004.
Previously, David served as president and chief operating officer of CMS, a position he was appointed to in October 2001. He was responsible for managing all aspects of the company's energy businesses, including Consumers Energy, independent power production and gas transmission and storage.
David joined Consumers Energy in 1976 as an associate engineer at the utility's Big Rock Point nuclear plant. Before being named vice president of energy supply services in 1990, he held several engineering and management positions at the company's nuclear plants and general office. During a break in service from 1979 to 1983, he conducted power plant engineering design studies for an architect-engineering firm.
David became Consumer Energy's vice president of marketing in 1992, and senior vice president of nuclear, rates and marketing in 1994. From 1997 to 2000, David was president and chief executive officer, electric, of Consumers Energy.
David serves on the board of directors and is past chairman of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, and is currently on the board of directors of the Detroit Renaissance and the Edison Electric Institute.
David earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering science and a master of science degree in nuclear engineering, both from Iowa State University. He also completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School. He is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan.
Retired; formerly Executive Vice President, Time Inc.
Elizabeth Valk Long is a member of the board of directors of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Lisa retired from Time Inc. in July 2001, where she was executive vice president with senior management responsibility for Time Inc.'s consumer marketing, customer service, newsstand distribution, production, human resources, legal affairs and corporate communications.
Lisa had been president of Time magazine since September 1993, the first person in the magazine's 70-year history to hold the title. Before becoming president, Lisa was named the magazine's 13th publisher in July 1991, the first woman to hold the position.
Lisa joined Time Inc. in 1979 on the circulation staff of Time magazine. In 1982, she became circulation director of Fortune magazine. Two years later, she was named to the same position at Sports Illustrated. In December 1985, she was appointed circulation director of Time. Lisa was named publisher of Life in December 1986, making her the first woman publisher of any Time Inc. magazine. In November 1988, she was named publisher of People magazine.
Currently a resident of Tequesta, Florida, Lisa is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hollins University in Virginia. She also has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Lisa is also a director of The J. M. Smucker Company in Orrville, Ohio, and Belk, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina and a trustee of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland.
Chair of the Board of Directors, Steelcase Inc; Private Investor
Robert C. Pew III is a member of the board of directors at Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Now a private investor, Rob served as president of Steelcase North America from May 1990 to March 1994. In that capacity, he was responsible for all sales, marketing and manufacturing operations involving Steelcase-brand products.
Rob originally joined Steelcase in Grand Rapids in 1974 as a product standards engineer in the Chair Plant. In 1975, he was named a wage and salary administrator in the Human Resources department. In 1976, Rob became an employee relations manager, responsible for the Desk Plant and, later, the File Plant. In 1977, he was promoted to superintendent of the File Plant.
Rob was named plant manager of the Steelcase facility in Fletcher, North Carolina, in 1979. He held that post until 1984, when he left the company to become one of its independent dealers, eventually owning and operating Steelcase dealerships in Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina, and in Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1988, Rob returned to Steelcase in Grand Rapids as vice president and assistant to the president. He was named executive vice president, Steelcase operations, in 1989.
Rob's activities in the not-for-profit world have included a term as president of Junior Achievement of Western North Carolina and various roles within United Way, including chair of the Community Planning and Allocation Process of the Buncombe County United Way and overall campaign chair of United Way of Western Michigan. Rob has also served as chair of the Asheville Downtown Commission and campaign chair for the Pack Place Arts and Science Center. Rob is a former trustee of Grand Valley State University and is currently board chair of the Institute of Design in Chicago.
Rob earned a bachelor of science degree in social studies from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Federal Express Corporation
Cathy D. Ross is a member of the board of directors for Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Cathy is senior vice president and chief financial officer for FedEx Express, the largest FedEx operating company. Managing over 2,000 finance professionals throughout the U.S., Asia, Europe, Middle East, Canada and Latin America, she oversees the worldwide financial affairs of FedEx Express, including worldwide strategic and financial planning as well as financial analysis, reporting and forecasting and global controller oversight functions.
A four-time recipient of the Five Star Award, the top FedEx employee honor, Cathy began her career with FedEx in 1984 as a senior financial analyst. She served in a number of management positions in Finance and Customer Service, supporting the worldwide operations of the company. She was promoted to vice president, Express Financial Planning, in 1998 and to her current position in 2004. In 2005 and 2007 she also received the FedEx CEO Five Star Award in recognition of her numerous outstanding contributions to the business.
Prior to joining FedEx, Cathy worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation as a cost analyst and cost analysis supervisor (1982-1984) and for Buckeye Cellulose Corporation (a subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble) as an accounting supervisor and staff accountant (1978-1982).
Cathy serves on the board of directors of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis; the University of Memphis National Alumni Association executive board of directors; the University of Memphis Research Foundation Team; and the University of Memphis Tiger Athletics Advisory Board. In 2007, she joined other notable women of achievement as a member of the Tennessee Women's Forum, and she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Delta Sigma Pi Professional Fraternity and Links, Inc., an organization of African-American women devoted to community service.
A native of Henderson, Tennessee, Cathy holds an accounting degree from Christian Brothers University and an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Contract Pharmaceuticals Limited
Peter M. Wege II is a member of the board of directors of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Peter is currently chairman of Contract Pharmaceuticals Limited, a contract manufacturer of pharmaceuticals for major pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, he invests in, consults with and serves on the boards of several start-up companies.
Peter joined Steelcase in 1981 as liaison manager of European operations, based at corporate headquarters. In 1982, he was named executive vice president of Steelcase Canada, then president later that year.
Prior to joining Steelcase, Peter was manager of chemical manufacturing at Eli Lilly & Company from 1975 to 1981.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Peter is president of the board of directors of the Grand Rapids Art Museum Foundation and president of the Wege Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Peter received a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He also earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
P. Craig Welch, Jr. has been a member of the board of directors of Steelcase Inc. since 1979. Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry, delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Craig is currently member manager of Honzo Fund, LLC and president of JCT Foundation.
Craig began his career with Steelcase in 1967 in the production control department. In 1968, he was appointed an industrial engineer at the company's manufacturing facility in La Mirada, California. In 1969, he joined the sales administration department at the California division and was named manager, district sales, in 1970.
In 1970 Craig returned to Grand Rapids, assigned to special projects of the production control department. In 1972, he was named manager of manufacturing systems data processing, and director of production inventory control (PIC) in 1975.
Craig was named director of information services in 1985, responsible for all Steelcase data processing activities. In 1987, he left Steelcase to concentrate his business activities in real estate and venture capital.
He attended Colorado College and Michigan State University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology.
Philanthropist; President, Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation; Chair, Steelcase Foundation
Kate Pew Wolters is a member of the Board of Directors of Steelcase Inc., and chair of the Steelcase Foundation, an endowed corporate foundation of Steelcase Inc. Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry, delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Kate was appointed to the Board of Directors in September 2001. She was appointed chair of the Steelcase Foundation upon her leaving the post of executive director of the Steelcase Foundation in October 1996.
The Steelcase Foundation was established in 1951 to make grants to non-profit organizations, projects and programs in the areas of human service, health, education, community development, the arts and the environment. Particular concern is given to people who are disadvantaged, disabled, young and elderly as they attempt to improve the quality of their lives. At the end of fiscal year 2008, the Foundation had made nearly $6 million in grants and matching gifts and held assets of over $70 million.
Kate also serves as president of the Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation. Founded in 1997 by Kate and her late husband, Richard, this private foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations with an emphasis in the arts, education, human services and people with disabilities.
Kate was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Council on Disability in 1994 and was reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1996. For eight of her nine years on the council, she served as its vice chair.
Kate currently serves as a board member for a number of organizations, including the Progressive Womens' Alliance of West Michigan and Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service. She also serves as a member of the board of the Mary and Robert Pew Public Education Fund, a foundation established by her parents that addresses public education in Palm Beach County, Florida. She serves as co-chair of the Kent County Children's Commission and was appointed by Gov. Granholm to an eight-year term as a member of the Board of Grand Valley State University in 2004.
Kate joined the Steelcase Foundation in 1986 as executive director after serving as director of the Grand Rapids Center for Independent Living for two years. From 1982 to 1984, she was a staff social worker in the Steelcase Inc. Counseling and Referral Center.
Kate holds a master's degree in social work from Michigan State University and a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.
She has received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Aquinas College (1999), Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University (1994), Arts Award from the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids (1997), YWCA Tribute Award (1997), and the Women of Achievement and Courage Award from the Michigan Women's Foundation (2001).
Robert C. Pew II is chairman emeritus of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
Bob served as chairman of the board at Steelcase for 25 years when he assumed his chairman emeritus role in March 1999.
In a career with Steelcase Inc. spanning more than 47 years, Bob has played an integral role in the company's growth. Sales were $15 million in 1952 when he joined the company. Fiscal 1998 worldwide consolidated sales, including those of joint ventures, were $3.3 billion. In March 1989, he retired as chief executive officer, a position he held since 1966.
Following three years in labor relations at Doehler-Jarvis Corporation, Bob joined Steelcase in 1952 as a manufacturing expediter. In 1955, he was named superintendent of the company's desk plant. In 1961, he became plant manager of the consolidated manufacturing operations. He was named administrative vice president in 1962; executive vice president in 1963; and president and chief executive officer in 1966. In 1974, he became chairman of the board.
Bob is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut. A former captain in the United States Air Force, he served as a pilot from 1942 to 1945 and again during the Korean crisis.
Bob received the 1989 Michigan Governor's Honor Roll Award for his support of the arts. On behalf of Steelcase Inc., he received the National Trust Historic Preservation Award, presented by then President Ronald Reagan in 1989, for the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meyer May house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1990, he was inducted into the Grand Rapids Business Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was named Slykerhouse Businessperson of the Year by the Economic Club of Grand Rapids.
Bob is a former director of the Foremost Corporation of America, Old Kent Financial Corporation, Irwin Seating, Kirsh Company and Wometco Enterprises. He is a past director of the National Organization on Disability and has served on the Steelcase Foundation. He has served on the boards of Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, the Cranbrook Academy of Art, United Way, Blodgett Hospital, Michigan Economic Alliance and numerous civic and state committees promoting the betterment of economic growth, education, health care and the arts.
He has received honorary doctorates from Grand Valley State University, Aquinas College and Davenport College of Business.
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Chair of the Executive Committee
