La-Z-Boy Incorporated Board of Directors Elects Melinda Whittington as Chair, Michael Lawton as Lead Director
December 16 2024 - 4:20PM
La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) is pleased to announce that its
Board of Directors has approved, effective December 11, 2024, the
following changes as part of the Board’s periodic evaluation of its
leadership structure:
- Melinda
Whittington, La-Z-Boy Incorporated President and Chief Executive
Officer and a member of its Board, has been elected to serve
additionally as Chair of the Board.
- Michael Lawton,
who has served as Chair of the Board since May 2022, will return to
his previous position of independent Lead Director.
“Melinda is an exceptional and highly respected
leader, and the Board believes that her decisive leadership will
continue to drive long-term, sustainable value for all
stakeholders. I look forward to continuing to work closely with her
in her elevated leadership role,” Michael Lawton commented.
“I have confidence that Melinda’s strategic
vision and insistence on operational excellence, combined with
Mike’s thoughtful and experienced leadership, position our Board to
provide ongoing, effective support and oversight,” said Janet Kerr,
Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Whittington has served as the company’s President and Chief
Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors since
2021. She joined La-Z-Boy Incorporated as Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer, a role she held for three years prior to
her appointment as CEO. Previously, Whittington was the Chief
Financial Officer of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, as well as
the Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief
Accounting Officer for Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (now The Kraft Heinz
Company). Earlier in her career she spent 20 years with The Procter
and Gamble Company in finance roles of increasing responsibility.
Whittington also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Best
Buy Co., Inc.
Lawton, who has been a director since 2013, has
served as the company’s non-executive Chair of the Board since
2022. Prior to becoming Chair, he was the independent Lead Director
beginning in 2021. Mr. Lawton retired from Domino’s Pizza, Inc.,
where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
and previously held various management roles, including interim
Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of
International. Before this, Lawton was Senior Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of Gerber Products Company, now a
subsidiary of Nestle S.A. He also serves currently on the Board of
Directors and as the Chair of the Audit Committee for Universal
Corporation.
Media Contact:
Cara Klaer, Corporate Communications: (734)
598-0652 Cara.Klaer@la-z-boy.com
Mark Becks, Investor Relations: (734) 457-9538
Mark.Becks@la-z-boy.com
About La-Z-Boy
Incorporated:
La-Z-Boy Incorporated brings the
transformational power of comfort to people, homes, and communities
around the world - a mission that began when its founders invented
the iconic recliner in 1927. Today, the company operates as a
vertically integrated furniture retailer and manufacturer,
committed to uncompromising quality and compassion for its
consumers.
The Retail segment consists of 193 company-owned
La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores, and is part of a broader
network of over 350 La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® that,
with La-Z-Boy.com, serve customers nationwide. Joybird®, an
e-commerce retailer and manufacturer of modern upholstered
furniture, has 12 stores in the U.S. In the Wholesale
segment, La-Z-Boy manufactures comfortable, custom
furniture for its Furniture Galleries® and a variety of retail
channels, England Furniture Co. offers custom upholstered
furniture, and casegoods brands Kincaid®, American Drew®, and
Hammary® provide pieces that make every room feel like home.
To learn more, please visit: https://www.la-z-boy.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains “forward-looking”
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by
the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current
facts. Generally, forward-looking statements include information
concerning expectations, projections or trends relating to our
results of operations, financial results, financial condition,
strategic initiatives and plans, expenses, dividends, share
repurchases, liquidity, use of cash and cash requirements,
borrowing capacity, investments, future economic performance, and
our business and industry.
The forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on certain assumptions and currently available
information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties,
many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control. Additional
risks and uncertainties that we do not presently know about or that
we currently consider to be immaterial may also affect our business
operations and financial results. Our actual future results and
trends may differ materially depending on a variety of factors,
including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties
discussed in our Fiscal 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other
factors identified in our reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not
rely on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual
results. We are including this cautionary note to make applicable
and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for forward-looking
statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or for any other reason.
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