Corporate Governance - Board of Directors

Michael Lawton, who has been a director since 2013, currently serves as our non-executive Chairman of the Board. Prior to becoming Chairman, Mr. Lawton served as our independent Lead Director since 2021. Mr. Lawton retired from Domino’s Pizza, Inc., where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and previously served in various management roles, including interim Chief Information Officer, and Executive Vice President of International.  Prior to joining Domino’s, Mr. Lawton was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gerber Products Company, now a subsidiary of Nestle S.A.  Mr. Lawton began his career at Ernst & Whinney, now Ernst & Young.  He also serves on the board of Universal Corporation.

Melinda Whittington became President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated in April 2021. From June 2018 until her appointment, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company, where she led the global finance and accounting team. Before joining La-Z-Boy, Ms. Whittington was the Chief Financial Officer of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. and prior to that, she was Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (now The Kraft Heinz Company). From 1993 to 2014, Ms. Whittington held various finance leadership roles at The Procter & Gamble Company, including Finance Director, Global Home Products; Finance Director, North America Home Care and Global Surface Care Brand Franchise; Finance Director, Corporate Accounting; and Associate Finance Director for Global Business Services. Her roles included international experiences in Belgium and Costa Rica. She also serves on the board of Best Buy Co., Inc.

Erika Alexander joined the La-Z-Boy board in 2021. Ms. Alexander currently serves as the Chief Global Officer of Global Operations for Marriott International, Inc. She is responsible for the implementation and ongoing operation of Marriott’s enterprise-wide programs and platforms. This includes operations accountability for key strategic disciplines such as Quality Assurance, Food & Beverage, Hotel Systems Optimization, Procurement, Sustainability, and Supplier Diversity. Previously, Ms. Alexander was Chief Lodging Services Officer for The Americas region. In her more than 30 years with Marriott International, Inc., she has held a variety of positions, including Area Vice President of Americas for the Eastern Region and various leadership roles for several of Marriott’s largest brands. She also serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Alexander has a keen understanding of brands, consumers and the dynamics associated with their ever-evolving needs and expertise in the areas of sustainability and human capital management.

Sarah Gallagher joined our board in 2016.  She currently sits on the board of Abercrombie and Fitch Co. and serves as an Executive Advisor of FitforCommerce (retail consultants focused on helping retailers for ecommerce).  Ms. Gallagher previously served as Executive Chairperson of the Rebecca Taylor woman’s fashion brand, where she was interim chief executive officer with responsibility for the wholesale, stores and e-commerce businesses. Ms. Gallagher served as President of Ralph Lauren North America e-Commerce and as President of Ralph Lauren Media LLC, Polo.com, where she led all aspects of Ralph Lauren’s e-Commerce business for 12 years to a position of industry leadership and collaborated on its expansion into European markets. Prior to her tenure with the Ralph Lauren organization, Ms. Gallagher served as Senior Vice President, Banana Republic Direct, and Senior Vice President, Gap Direct, divisions of Gap, Inc., where she was directly responsible for the launch of the Banana Republic catalog, website, and all aspects of its e-Commerce business. Prior to joining Gap, Inc., Ms. Gallagher served as Vice President, Apparel, Jewelry and Accessories for Avon Products, Inc.; Vice President and General Merchandise Manager, Intimate Apparel and then Executive Vice President, Merchandising of Victoria’s Secret Catalogue; and in various roles with Lord & Taylor.

Jim Hackett joined the La-Z-Boy board in 2021. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company from 2017 through 2020, and was also a member of  the company’s board of directors. Most recently, he served as a Special Advisor to Ford until his retirement in March 2021. Under his leadership as President and CEO, Ford moved aggressively into the new era of smart vehicles. At the same time, he strengthened the company’s base business by restructuring operations and invigorating the product portfolio. Before serving as CEO, Mr. Hackett was Chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary of Ford. Prior to executive positions at Ford, he spent 30 years at Steelcase, the global leader in office furniture, serving 20 years as CEO before his retirement from the position in 2014. He served as Vice Chairman of Steelcase from 2014 to 2015. A visionary, Mr. Hackett predicted that the office landscape would shift from cubicles to an open seating environment.

Raza Haider joined the La-Z-Boy board in 2023. Mr. Haider has served as the Chief Product and Supply Chain Officer of Bose Corporation since 2022. At Bose, he is responsible for designing strategic innovations for the brand’s broad product portfolio to better connect with consumers. Prior to joining Bose, he was Senior Vice President at Dell Technologies, Inc., where he was most recently the general manager of Dell’s global consumer PC and Client Peripheral business. Before that, he led various product development groups at Dell. Raza’s 23-year career includes a diverse set of experiences at other global companies, including McKinsey and Adventis. He is on the Nominating and Governance Committee.

A director since 2009, Janet Kerr is currently Vice Chancellor of Pepperdine University and Professor Emeritus of the Pepperdine University School of Law.  Ms. Kerr founded and served as executive director of the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law at Pepperdine Law School.  She also founded several technology companies, including X-Laboratories, which she co-founded with HRL Laboratories, LLC to assist in the commercialization of technologies in research institutions.  She served as Chief Strategy Officer of Exemplify, Inc., a technology knowledge management company, acquired by Bloomberg BNA. Professor Kerr was the first professor to hold the Laure Sudreau-Rippe Endowed Chair at Pepperdine University School of Law and is a nationally recognized author, lecturer, and consultant in the area of securities law compliance, banking law, corporate governance, and general corporate law.  Ms. Kerr serves on the boards of directors of App Folio, Inc., and Tilly’s, Inc., and previously served on the boards of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. and TCW Strategic Income Fund, Inc. Ms. Kerr has also served as an advisor on corporate issues and entrepreneurial strategies to the People’s Republic of China, France, and Thailand and has represented the U.S. Department of Commerce as a speaker at international events.

Mark LaVigne joined the La-Z-Boy board in 2023. Mr. LaVigne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Energizer Holdings, Inc. At Energizer, he has served in a variety of senior leadership positions with increasing responsibility since 2010, including as Chief Operating Officer since 2015 until his appointment as CEO in January 2021. Most recently, Mr. LaVigne successfully led the company through the COVID pandemic with a focus on safety, business continuity and supply chain agility. Before joining Energizer, Mr. LaVigne was a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, an international law firm, where he developed his expertise in corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and securities. He currently serves on the board of Energizer Holdings, Inc.

Rebecca O’Grady, who joined our board in 2019, retired from General Mills, where she served most recently as president of Global Häagen-Dazs and chief marketing officer for international marketing, e-commerce and consumer insights. At General Mills, Ms. O’Grady previously served as president of the Yoplait USA division. She joined General Mills in 1990 and held leadership roles in a variety of divisions and brands, including Yoplait, Cheerios, Progresso and Betty Crocker.

Lauren Peters, who joined our board in 2016, retired from Foot Locker, Inc., where she served most recently as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Ms. Peters began her career at Arthur Andersen & Company before moving to May Department Stores, were she eventually become division vice president and assistant controller. She currently serves on the board of Allegion plc and Victoria’s Secret & Co.