Big Lots Enhances Board Diversity with Nomination of Two New Independent Directors

Upon Election of Sandra Campos and Kimberley A. Newton, Six of Ten Independent Directors to Be Women

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Apr 19, 2021, 17:54 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) ("Big Lots" or the "company"), today announced that, following a national director search to add diversity to the company's Board of Directors, the company has nominated Sandra Campos, chief executive officer of Project Verte, Inc. and former chief executive officer of DVF (Diane von Fürstenberg), and Kimberley A. Newton, former senior vice president consumer experience for Hallmark Cards, Inc., to stand for election at the company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting"). The Annual Meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 beginning at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

"We are thrilled to nominate Sandra and Kim for election to the Board, as their leadership and experience in omni-channel retail will be of tremendous value to our organization," said Cynthia T. Jamison, Chair of the Nominating / Corporate Governance Committee.

"Their election will bring both significant expertise and new, diverse perspectives and insight to the boardroom," stated James R. Chambers, Chairman of the Board of Big Lots. "The addition of Sandra and Kim positively complements our diverse Board of veteran industry leaders. We look forward to gaining valuable insights and perspectives from them both, and are confident they will provide significant benefits to support Big Lots' future growth."

Bruce K. Thorn, the company's Chief Executive Officer and President, added: "We are proud to have launched a robust Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative, as we truly believe that every difference makes a difference. Adding Sandra and Kim not only will help us drive our growth strategy, it will also put us among only a small percentage of public companies that have a majority of women directors. Each of Sandra and Kim is a long-time, regular customer of Big Lots who will bring a strong understanding of our brand and how we can reach our full potential as a company."

Ms. Campos brings more than two decades of experience building consumer-led global lifestyle brands. She currently serves as the chief executive officer of Project Verte, Inc., a cloud-based supply chain solution company for retailers. Prior to Project Verte, Ms. Campos was chief executive officer at Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF), where she focused on innovation and the implementation of omni-channel and unified commerce strategies that drove significant impact to topline revenues. Previously, she was co-president for Women's Apparel at Global Brands Group, leading iconic brands such as Juicy Couture, Bebe and BCBG. A successful entrepreneur, Ms. Campos also founded several retail-related companies. She currently serves as a member of the advisory board of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp., a public special purpose acquisition company.

Ms. Newton is currently the founder and CEO of Alexis Enterprises, LLC, which includes the Intentional Pause Project, an organization aimed at empowering women to expand the impact of their leadership. Ms. Newton spent more than two decades at Hallmark Cards, Inc. in various leadership roles, most recently serving as Senior Vice President Customer Experience. While at Hallmark, she worked on all aspects of consumer marketing, corporate strategy, business development, omni-channel experience and digital transformation, and helped modernize Hallmark's diversified portfolio of retail stores, media networks, Crayola® and a global greetings business by reimagining strategies and capabilities through a future-looking, digitally-enabled and customer-focused lens.

About Big Lots
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is a neighborhood discount retailer operating 1,414 stores in 47 states, as well as a best-in-class ecommerce platform with expanded capabilities via BOPIS, curbside pickup, Instacart, and PICKUP with same day delivery. The company's product assortment is focused on home essentials: Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and Electronics, Toys & Accessories. Big Lots' mission is to help people Live BIG and Save Lots. The company strives to be the BIG difference for a better life by delivering unmatched value to customers through surprise and delight, being a "best place to work" culture for associates, rewarding shareholders with consistent growth and top-tier returns, as well as doing good in local communities. For more information about the company, visit www.biglots.com.

SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.