Caleres announced Kathleen Welter has joined the company as chief human resources officer. Welter will oversee all human resources functions for the company’s portfolio of brands and its more than 9,000 Associates worldwide, including recruitment, talent management, training, culture, compensation, benefits and labor law compliance. Welter will be a member of the company’s leadership team and will report to President and CEO Jay Schmidt. She will be based in St. Louis.
Doug Koch, current chief human resources officer, will remain at Caleres for a 30-day transition period with Welter and to support special projects until his retirement at year-end.
Welter brings nearly three decades of human resources experience to Caleres with expertise in aligning talent with strategic vision and organizational objectives. Most recently she was the principal lead for the HR team at Woodard & Curran as vice president of human resources, where she oversaw senior executive recruitment and succession planning, restructured performance, development and compensation strategies, and led HR integration of acquisitions. Previously, Welter was a senior consultant at Talent Equation where she grew the company’s consulting practice by partnering with a diverse base of clients to support organizational design and team development. She is returning to Caleres where she worked for a decade, first as director of talent management and then as vice president of talent strategy and leadership continuity. Welter has her MBA and bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri.
