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Tractor Supply Company Names Melissa Kersey Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer

by cdawkins
Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States, today announced that Melissa Kersey has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, effective July 20, 2020. Kersey, who brings senior-level experience from Walmart and, most recently, McDonald’s USA, will report to Hal Lawton, Tractor Supply’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and will serve on the Company’s Executive Committee.
In this role, Kersey will have oversight for all Human Resources strategy for the Company, including compensation and benefits, recruiting, talent management, leadership development and training, along with the Company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
 “At Tractor Supply, investing in our people and promoting a culture centered around our Mission and Values is of the highest priority. Melissa brings to Tractor Supply deep expertise and experience in leadership development, diversity and inclusion, organizational effectiveness and employee engagement. Her strong background at the intersection of strategy, talent and culture will help us to continue to drive growth and strengthen our business,” Lawton said. “I am excited to welcome Melissa to our executive leadership team and believe her proven experience across both the retail and service industries will be invaluable as Tractor Supply continues to grow and further develop our team’s capabilities and culture.”
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Business

Tennis Champion And Entrepreneur Maria Sharapova Invests In Global Tech Wellness Brand Therabody, Joining The Company As A Strategic Advisor

by cdawkins

Photo Caption: Benjamin Nazarian, CEO of Therabody, Maria Sharapova, and Dr. Jason Wersland, Founder and Chief Wellness Officer of Therabody.  Maria Sharapova, Therabody Investor and Strategic Advisor

Therabody formerly known as Theragun®, the global leader in tech wellness and percussive massage therapy, officially announced that tennis champion and entrepreneur Maria Sharapova has made an investment in the company while joining Therabody as a strategic advisor. In addition to this capital investment, Sharapova will play an instrumental role in supporting the company’s global growth strategy as a member of its Advisory Board.
“Throughout my career, as both an athlete and entrepreneur, it’s been important to me to work with brands and partners that have great potential and can have a positive impact,” said Sharapova. “Since Therabody’s launch, they have continued to demonstrate they are on the cutting-edge of combining technology, fitness, and wellness, bringing more balance to people’s lives. I’m thrilled to join the team as they continue their mission to transform and revolutionize the tech wellness space.”
 After retiring from professional tennis in February 2020 as a five-time Grand Slam title winner, Sharapova has been investing in health and wellness companies. Parlaying her extensive business acumen and professional sports background, Sharapova’s involvement as a strategic advisor with Therabody will go above and beyond the scope of a traditional investor, working with Therabody on its product offerings, advising on strategic initiatives from concept to execution as well as supporting the company’s continuing expansion in the European and Asian markets. As a member of Therabody’s Advisory Board, Sharapova will also play a critical part in helping advise and liaise on company partnerships, growth strategies, and Therabody’s future direction within the burgeoning tech wellness space.
“I am proud to welcome  Maria Sharapova to our Therabody family as an investor and strategic advisor,” said Benjamin Nazarian, CEO of Therabody. “As we continue to innovate and offer whole-body wellness products, Maria shares Therabody’s vision to improve people’s lives with natural wellness solutions. As a former professional athlete, she knows exactly how to recover and take care of her body on and off the court. The Therabody team is excited to work with Maria to use that experience to share with our growing community to continue to change people’s lives.”
 A former No. 1 ranked tennis champion, and the 7th female tennis player ever to complete the career Grand Slam, Sharapova understands the value of unifying technology with sports, wellness, and recovery. Following Theragun’s rebrand to Therabody in May 2020, the brand has become an undisputed industry leader to integrate these respective fields. In tandem with the rebrand, Therabody also launched its proprietary USDA Certified Organic CBD line, TheraOne, last month. Sharapova’s involvement with Therabody will also help expand the company’s future wellness offerings, developing new products beyond its two current divisions of Theragun and TheraOne.
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Business

Mary Beth Laughton Joins Impossible Foods’ Board of Directors

by cdawkins
  • CEO of lifestyle retailer Athleta becomes Impossible Foods’ newest board member
  • Laughton brings more than 20 years of consumer-focused retail and digital leadership to Impossible Foods’ board, including experience at Sephora and Nike
  • Impossible Foods has expanded its retail footprint 60x since March and launched its newest product, Impossible™ Sausage Made from Plants, now available at more than 22,000 locations nationwide
Impossible Foods Inc. has announced that Mary Beth Laughton has joined the food tech startup’s board of directors.
 The retail industry veteran has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, innovation and sustainability for consumer brands and has served as a senior executive at multiple multinational companies. She is currently the President and CEO of Athleta, a premium fitness and lifestyle brand that creates versatile performance apparel to inspire active and confident women and girls. Athleta, a certified B Corporation, was acquired by Gap Inc. in 2008.
Previously, Laughton was Executive Vice President of Omni Retail for Sephora US. Before that, she spent nine years at Nike, where she held a variety of strategy, merchandising and e-commerce roles. Laughton also served as a board member of REI.
 “Few companies are pursuing as bold and ambitious of a vision as Impossible Foods,” said Laughton. “Like Athleta, the team at Impossible Foods is passionate about both innovation as well as creating a sustainable future. I’m thrilled to be part of an organization dedicated to combining profit and planet, and I look forward to helping them extend their impact even further.”

In addition to Laughton, Impossible Foods’ board members include:

  • Pat Brown, Impossible Foods’ CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board
  • Fedele Bauccio, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of Bon Appétit Management Company
  • Samir Kaul, founding general partner at Khosla Ventures
  • John Marren, Senior Managing Director, North America, of Singapore-based global investment company Temasek
  • Tal Ronnen, founder and chef of Los Angeles-based Crossroads Kitchen and author of the New York Times bestseller The Conscious Cook
  • Bart Swanson, advisor at Horizons Ventures, the Hong Kong-based private investment fund of Mr. Li Ka-Shing
  • Vanessa Wittman, Chief Financial Officer, Glossier
“Mary Beth is a world-class corporate leader,” said Impossible Foods’ CEO and Founder Dr. Patrick O. Brown. “We are excited about the strategic guidance she will bring as we navigate this period of hypergrowth and unprecedented retail expansion. In particular, we are eager to tap into her experience and insights in retail, marketing and e-commerce which will help us build awareness, trial and the Impossible Food brand.”
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Business

Ogilvy’s Lauren Crampsie Named 2020 Inductee to the Advertising Hall of Achievement

by cdawkins

Lauren Crampsie, President of Ogilvy New York, has been named one of the 2020 inductees into the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) Advertising Hall of Achievement. For 28 years, the Advertising Hall of Achievement has remained the premier industry award to recognize young, talented individuals aged 40 and under, who are making a significant impact in the advertising industry. Honorees are each selected by a jury of their peers from across the advertising industry. Lauren is the only current agency leader to be inducted as a part of the 2020 class.

“The 2020 Class of the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement represents our most diverse class in the history of the AHOA. The 2020 class includes a wide range of disciplines and experiences within the Advertising, Marketing & Media industries,” Steve Pacheco, President and CEO of the AAF, said in announcing this year’s inductees. “Recognizing and developing the next generation of talent is a critical focus of the AAF’s mission. And the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement does just that in a real and genuine way that brings us together to celebrate good people doing great work in advertising. Congratulations to the Advertising Hall of Achievement Class of 2020 on your induction into this respected group.”
“Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, dissenters, and rebels,” David Ogilvy famously said. Since joining Ogilvy in 2004, Lauren Crampsie has embodied that definition of talent and has established herself as a change agent. In every role she has held over the past 15 years, Lauren has pushed for bold change, benefiting the agency’s people and business, while helping to forge transformative partnerships with clients as well as within the agency, WPP, and the industry at large.

Since May 2019, Lauren has led the largest local office in Ogilvy’s worldwide network as President of Ogilvy New York. She previously served as Ogilvy’s Worldwide Chief Marketing Officer leading overall brand strategy, global communications, social media, and corporate responsibility on behalf of the company. Under Lauren’s leadership, Ogilvy was widely recognized, including being named Global Agency of the Year (2016) by Adweek, EFFIEs World’s Most Effective Agency Network (2012, 2013, 2016), and Stand Out Agency (2012, 2013, 2016) by Advertising Age, among other honors. Over the years she was instrumental in adding a number of Fortune 200 brands to the agency’s client roster including Citizens Bank, IKEA, Nationwide, and most recently Instagram. Lauren currently serves on the Board of Directors of MAKERS and she is a member of the Time’s Up Advertising steering committee.

Lauren will be formally inducted to the Hall of Achievement during a virtual ceremony in November. For more information, including the full list of 2020 inductees, visit aaf.org/ahoa.
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Business

‘How Women Invest’ Fund Announces First Close and Focus on Female Investors and Founders of Color

by cdawkins

First Fund Closed in 4 Months Aiming to Disrupt VC Landscape with Diversity as Its Core Focus 

How Women Invest LLC (HWI) announced Fund I, a $10M venture fund subscribed predominantly by female investors, over half women of color, who aim to disrupt the antiquated, unequal landscape of the venture capital system that typically excludes women startup founders. The new fund provides capital, mentoring and a network of influential women leaders to support female startup founders, especially women of color. The first close of $5M was achieved in four months and the Partners credit the fund’s success to what they call their ultimate differentiator, a vast network of professional, collaborative and community-driven women leaders representing board directors, C-suite, and senior executives.
Data Shows VC Funded, Women-Led Startups Have Better ROIResearch shows that greater diversity yields higher returns. Startups with a female founder generated 78 cents of revenue for every $1 of funding, while male-founded startups generated 31 cents, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study of 350 startups. Private technology companies led by women are more capital-efficient, achieving 35% higher ROI, and, when venture-backed, 12% higher revenue than startups run by men, according to the  BCG study.
Julie Castro Abrams, Managing Partner at HWI and founder of sister organization How Women Lead, says, “The goal of the How Women Invest venture fund is to provide the starter fuel and support to propel fearless women startup founders to growth and victory. Research by Pitchbook shows that only 2% of all venture dollars are allocated to women-led, women-owned startups. This leaves most women entrepreneurs out of the venture system. With HWI, we aim to change this imbalance.”
 Erika Cramer, Managing Partner at How Women Invest, says, “We started the fund to back our strong belief that the current venture landscape demands a new investment approach and business model — a 2.0 of gender lens investing. Our mission is two-fold. We are committed to bring more women investors from diverse backgrounds to the decision table and to support more female founders creating sustainable change in the venture landscape.” As a first generation American and the first in her family to complete a four-year college degree, Cramer wants other women to have the opportunities she has had and, hopefully, with an easier path. Cramer is investing in the fund with proceeds from her own liquidity event — the sale of her interest in a women-owned investment banking boutique, now an affiliate of Raymond James.
Women investing in the How Women Invest venture fund believe there is enormous opportunity to identify female founders with creative solutions, an opportunity often missed by traditional venture capitalists. This community of powerful women want to change the world by funding female founders who are disrupting systems, technologies, industries, services and products.
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