The Conference Board Names Its 11th President and CEO

NEW YORK, April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Conference Board announced that its Board of Trustees has elected Steve Odland as the organization's next President and CEO. Odland is the former Chairman and CEO of Office Depot, Inc. and AutoZone, Inc. He also is the current President and CEO of the Committee for Economic Development, The Conference Board's public policy affiliate. Effective September 2018, he will succeed Jon Spector, who since 2007 has served as The Conference Board's President and CEO. At that time Spector will become a Senior Advisor to the organization.

Odland brings to The Conference Board an extraordinary depth of corporate experience. In addition to having served at the helm of Office Depot, Inc. and AutoZone, Inc., he served as President and CEO of Tops Markets, president of a division of Sara Lee Bakery, and spent a decade and a half at the Quaker Oats Company. He currently sits on the boards of directors of General Mills, Inc. and Analogic, Inc., where he chairs the governance committee of both. He also is a Member of the Board of Trustees of The Conference Board.

 "Steve Odland's background as a customer-focused, global corporate leader makes him well-positioned to lead The Conference Board into its second century," said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and CEO of TIAA and Chairman of The Conference Board. "Steve will add to the substantial progress made over the past eleven years by Jon Spector, leading The Conference Board to build on its considerable reputation of delivering customer insights worldwide."

"The Conference Board made tremendous strides under the leadership of Jon Spector," said Steve Odland. "Among his many accomplishments, he navigated the organization through the Great Recession, took its use of technology to new heights, and substantially expanded its research portfolio. I look forward to building on this and more as we enter the next chapter."

"After having seen firsthand the progress that Steve Odland has achieved at the Committee for Economic Development, I am confident that The Conference Board as a whole will benefit immensely from his leadership," said Jon Spector, The Conference Board's outgoing President and CEO. "He is an excellent choice to lead The Conference Board as it continues helping organizations navigate the biggest issues impacting business."

Odland has a Bachelor's of Business Administration from The University of Notre Dame, and a Master's of Management degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a CNBC Contributor and co-author of Sustaining Capitalism: Bipartisan Solutions to Restore Trust & Prosperity.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.

SOURCE The Conference Board