National Retail Federation

Richard F. Outcalt has been a national consultant for retail financial management and planning for more than twenty-five years. Prior to that, he was an executive for a national department store organization, and for ten years was owner/operator of three independent specialty stores. In 1977, he formed his own private consulting practice (thus making him the "junior" partner of OJRS). A graduate of Duke University, he earned an MBA in retailing from the University of Pittsburgh. With a fervor that suggests that retailing is the heart of economic life, he was president of both the Foundation for Private Enterprise Education and a national board member of the Institute of Management Consultants, Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, The National Retail Federation and The Turnaround Management Association.

Ashlee Aldridge joined West Marine in 2006 as CIO. She now leads the Direct Sales organization where she serves as SVP, Direct Sales and CIO. In her current role, she is focused on strategically growing the Direct Sales business segment by engaging the Customer through the Internet and Call Center Channels, while delivering a relevant Information Technology plan focused on transformation and optimization. She is a veteran of the retail industry, and an active member in the National Retail Federation. She brings a unique combination of practical knowledge, strategic thinking, and business transformation experience to West Marine. Prior to joining West Marine, Ashlee served as the Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer at Zale Corporation where she translated the mission critical business strategies into actionable objectives, programs and deliverables. Prior to her role as CIO, Ashlee served in various positions including Vice President of Strategic Development at Zale, and Sr. Manager at Deloitte. In these areas of service, she worked closely with Executive Management to design strategic visions, three year business plans, and technical and operational improvements focusing on a healthy balance between driving growth strategies and delivering cost savings. Ashlee and her family love boating. They spend several weeks each summer on the lakes back in the South enjoying inland boating activities. Since moving to California, her family has expanded their boating interests and developed a passion for sailing. Now, they sail as often as possible, exploring Monterey Bay on either a 40’ Marconi Rig Sloop, or a 42’ Catalina. They look forward to broadening their sailing travels and exploring other coasts over the next several years.

Carleen is the SVP and CFO for the National Retail Federation. She manages and supports the activities of the Financial Executives Council and Real Estate Executives Council. She also organizes the CFO Summit, an invitation-only event for retail Chief Financial Officers.

Mallory Duncan serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel for NRF. He is responsible for coordinating strategic legislative and regulatory initiatives involving customer data privacy, bankruptcy, fair credit reporting and truth-in-lending. Prior to joining NRF, Duncan served as corporate counsel in the Washington office of J. C. Penney Company, Inc., where he advised stores and headquarters on federal and state legislative and regulatory issues. Duncan was an attorney advisor in the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission and was previously associated with the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan. He has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations throughout his legal career, including the National Hospice Foundation. His publications include the Federal Trade Commission's Policy Guidance on Civil Penalties and co-authorship with Anne P. Fortney of "Fair Credit Reporting Act Creates New Duties for Employers," Credit World, May/June 1998. Duncan is a graduate of Pomona College and Yale Law School.

Steve Pfister is NRF's Senior Vice President for Government Relations, a position he has held since 1998. He is NRF's chief lobbyist and directs the Federation's legislative, regulatory, political and grassroots activities.

Dan Butler joined NRF in December 2000. He is responsible for committee meetings of top retail executives, developing conference programming, and ensuring that NRF members are well informed on the cutting-edge of retail industry issues. Butler serves as the NRF liaison to several member committees, including the Human Resources Executives Council and Council on Diversity. He also coordinates the yearly retail HR Executives Summit. Butler is a retail veteran with over 26 years of store-line experience in retail management, merchandising, and human resources. His career includes a history of exceeding sales plans, reducing associate turnover, and achieving inventory control objectives. Prior to joining NRF, Butler was Vice President and Store Manager at Macy's department store in Miami, Florida. While at Macy's, he managed a store with $48 million in annual sales volume and successfully reduced both internal and external shrinkage. Before joining Macy's in 1998, Butler spent 11 years with Hecht's department stores, first as divisional sales manager and then as store manager for stores in central Pennsylvania. He was named Divisional Sales Manager of the Year twice while at Hecht's.

Erik Autor was named Vice President and International Trade Counsel in 1998. He serves as the principal advisor on international trade, customs, and supplier compliance issues to the NRF and its member companies, which include the leading department, specialty, discount, mass merchandise, Internet and independent stores. From 1992 to 1998, Autor served first as International Trade Counsel and then as Senior International Trade Counsel on the Republican staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. His responsibilities covered international trade policy and legislation and he worked on major pieces of trade legislation including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Implementation Act, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, and the Customs Modernization Act. Autor was an international trade associate in the Washington office of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom from 1990 to 1992. While at Skadden Arps, he worked on a variety of trade litigation matters involving the cement and steel industries before the federal courts and administrative agencies. Autor was a law clerk to Judge Dominick DiCarlo at the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, which has jurisdiction over appeals in international trade and customs cases, from 1998 to 1990. A graduate of Duke University Law School, Autor received a J.D. and LL.M. degree in foreign and international law in 1988. He was a member of the editorial staff of the Alaska Law Review and later served as Managing Editor. He graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 1982 with an honors degree in European History, and received an M.Sc. degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics in 1984. He also studied at the Universitat Regensburg in Germany. Autor is admitted to practice law in California and the District of Columbia. He is married and has one child. He was born in Vancouver, Canada.

Marsha Dionne is NRF's Director of Grassroots and Industry Relations. Her primary duties include, organizing NRF's grassroots efforts, Political Action Committee fundraising and compliance. She also serves as liaison to the state retail associations on a wide range of industry matters. In 2001, Ms. Dionne developed the NRF Retail Action Network. The Retail Action Network is a critical component of NRF's grassroots program designed to help retailers have a greater voice in public policy. It is a voluntary network of retailers motivated to influence the outcome of legislation. Since its establishment in 2001, the NRF Retail Action Network has grown to over 20,000 retail participants nationwide who are eager to act on the industry's behalf. She is also the creator of the NRF "Retail Industry Education Forum". Planned and organized together with state retail associations and local chambers of commerce this forum is designed to bring members of Congress together with the retail community to discuss issues that affect the industry. These events, held in the form of breakfast meetings at stores, restaurants and shopping malls, give lawmakers a chance to establish new relationships or strengthen existing ones, along with an opportunity to outline their views on business issues and hear retailers' concerns.

Tonya is the Director, Speaker & Conference Management for the National Retail Federation. She manages speaker coordination for NRF conferences.

Bruce Kerr joined The Loyalty Group in September 1995 as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Bruce's primary responsibility is Relationship Management of existing partnerships as well as Business Development across all industries for the AIR MILES Reward Program. He is a member of the executive committee at The Loyalty Group and also plays a Business Development role in Strategic Innovations for our parent company Alliance Data Systems. Prior to joining The Loyalty Group, Bruce spent 10 years as head of Relationship Management and Business Development at CompuSearch, a direct marketing services company that represents all major industry groups, such as Retail, Financial Services, Automotive, and Consumer Packaged Goods. Bruce is an active member of the Retail Council of Canada, and of the National Retail Federation. He has additionally served on several Board of Director sub-committees. Bruce holds a degree from Seneca College.

Christopher P. Norris, CFI a consultant and seminar speaker for Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates since 2000, has over 19 years of experience in the loss prevention and investigative fields. He has trained thousands of security and law enforcement professionals on the art of interview and interrogation and has conducted numerous investigations for both private companies and public agencies. Since employed with W-Z, Mr. Norris has presented at several national meetings including the National Retail Federation (NRF) and American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) and has provided training for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). Mr. Norris began his career as an Asset Protection Officer for Mervyn's Department Stores in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Norris also held Asset Protection Manager and District Investigator positions with Mervyn's in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After leaving Mervyn's, Mr. Norris became Loss Prevention Manager for Saks Fifth Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. He then accepted a position as Corporate Loss Prevention Manager and Director of Investigations for Merchants Home Delivery Service, Inc. There Mr. Norris was responsible for all investigations, interviews, and awareness programs throughout North America and had the unique task of recruiting for the company as well. Mr. Norris holds degrees in Liberal Arts and Business Management, is a member of the American Society for Industrial Security and is a Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI). He currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and has a daughter, Erica, who is studying Criminal Justice at Arizona State University.

MYRON E. (MIKE) ULLMAN, III is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of J. C. Penney Company, Inc. Before joining JCPenney, Mike served as directeur general, group managing director of LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton from 1999 to 2002. He previously served as group chairman and chief executive officer of DFS Group Limited (1995-1999) and as chairman and chief executive officer of R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. (1992-1995). Mike serves on the board of Starbucks Coffee Company, and is vice chairman of the National Retail Federation and Chairman of the Board for Mercy Ships International, a global medical and human services charity.

Mr. Elliot S. Jaffe was Chief Executive Officer of our company from 1966 until February 2002. Mr. David R. Jaffe became President and Chief Executive Officer in February 2002. Previously he had been Vice Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors since September 2001. He had been Vice Chairman since February 2001. He joined us in 1992 as Vice President-Business Development and became Senior Vice President in 1995 and Executive Vice President in 1996. Mr. Jaffe is the son of Elliot S. and Roslyn S. Jaffe, Secretary and Treasurer of our company.

"Michelle Smith was named vice president of human resources for Barnes & Noble, Inc. in November 1996. She is responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of policies, practices and programs covering employee relations, compensation, benefits, organizational development and employee services. Ms. Smith joined Barnes & Noble in September 1993 as director of human resources. She was instrumental in directing the development of new initiatives that supported Barnes & Noble’s rapid expansion – a corporate Intranet, a human resources service center, and an improved benefits package. Prior to joining Barnes & Noble, Ms. Smith was vice president for personnel administration at Fortunoff’s, a multi-site specialty retailer in the New York City area. Before that, she held various personnel positions at TDK Electronics Corporation. Michelle Smith holds a bachelor's of science degree in exceptional education from the University of Miami and completed her graduate studies in administration and supervision at Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and serves on the Health and Employee Benefits Committee and Employment Law Committee of the National Retail Federation. In 1993, she was recognized by Matilda Cuomo for her role in fostering the New York State Mentoring Program on Long Island. "

After 10 years as a member of the PetSmart board of directors, Phil Francis joined PetSmart as president and chief executive officer in March 1998, and was named chairman of the board in October 1999. Prior to joining PetSmart, he was president and chief executive officer of Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc., a subsidiary of J. Sainsbury plc. From 1988 to July 1991, he was corporate vice president of wholesale for Roundy's Inc., a wholesale grocery distributor. Prior to joining Roundy's, Francis has extensive retail experience in various management positions with Cardinal Health and the Jewel Companies. He is a pet parent to a mixed-breed dog named Bit O'Honey.

Mr. Farah has been the President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of the Company since April 2000. He was Chairman of the Board of Venator Group, Inc. (now Foot Locker, Inc.) from December 1994 until April 2000, and was Chief Executive Officer of Venator Group, Inc. from December 1994 until August 1999. Mr. Farah is a member of the Board of Directors of Aetna Inc. and a member of the Board of Directors of Progressive Corp.

Terry J. Lundgren assumed the title of chairman, president and CEO of Macy's, Inc. in January 2004. Prior to this, he served as president and chief operating officer, a title he assumed in March 2003 after having served as president and chief merchandising officer since May 1997. Lundgren began his retailing career in 1975 as a trainee with Bullock's, a Los Angeles based division of Federated. He held positions of increasing responsibility over the next decade in buying, store management, human resources and senior-level store management, as well as serving as the division's director of stores. Lundgren was named senior vice president and general merchandising manager of Bullock's in 1984. In 1987, he was named president and CEO of Bullocks Wilshire, then an upscale chain of specialty department stores owned by Federated. Lundgren left Federated in 1988 to join Neiman Marcus, where he served as executive vice president and shortly thereafter was named chairman and CEO. He returned to Federated in April 1994 as chairman and CEO of the Federated Merchandising Group.

Through Mary's business instincts and perpetual drive, the business has grown since 1997 into the leading corporate concierge service with over 20 million users. Leveraging her customer relationship marketing expertise, Mary continues to build strategic business alliances and to develop "next generation" loyalty products for the company's blue-chip client roster. Prior to founding VIPdesk, Mary founded Capitol Concierge, a corporate concierge service located in Washington, DC. Started with just a $2,000 loan from her mother, Mary grew the company into the nation's largest corporate concierge service with tailored programs serving over 80 commercial office buildings. Capitol Concierge's phenomenal success was the subject of an Inc. Magazine cover story in October 1995. Mary has received numerous awards for her work, including the Inc. 500 in 1997 and 2003, 1997 Inc. Magazine's National Marketing Masters Award for Business Services, and Working Woman Magazine's National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. Mary serves on the Executive Committee of the Young President's Organization, and is a member of the National Retail Federation, Direct Marketing Association, and the Young Entrepreneurs Organization. She earned her BA in Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Mike founded Marc-Allen Associates, Inc. in 1996. He spent over 18 years in management positions with three leading retail chains. From 1993-1996, Mike served as Sr. VP of Stores with Factory Card Outlet where he supervised the operations of 200 greeting card and party supply stores. Before that, Mike had a long history of success with Montgomery Ward, where he built a solid career for over 14 years. Positions there included Director of Customer Service, Regional and District Manager positions and finally the Managing Director of a $700 million dollar territory. Mike also spent two years as Store Manager with Target earlier in his career. His experience in all aspects of retail make him uniquely qualified to connect great clients with great candidates. Mike has served on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Retail Merchants Association and is a member of the National Retail Federation. He has also been selected as a member of NPA's Quality Circle of Excellence, reflecting his outstanding dedication to candidate quality and client results. This select award is given out to only the top 1% of recruiters within NPA's 400 plus worldwide member firms.