Boards: Driven Brands, Ferguson, Jeld-Wen, ULTA Beauty.

Independent Board Director with NASDAQ, NYSE & Expertise in Governance, Compensation & Succession.   C-Level Marketing, Digital Commerce and SaaS Software Operating experience.  Help board members and business executives understand and apply technologies and disruptive programs to win in the marketplace. 

Seasoned Operating Executive with a proven track record of driving results across a range of situations from start-up ventures (e.g., PowerReviews, Blue Nile) to multibillion dollar operations (e.g., Walmart, Williams-Sonoma, Inc), requiring organic growth and/or accretive M&A sourced growth, in both P&L operating and Brand and Marketing functional roles, in B2C and B2B.  

Strong capabilities in business fundamentals and data driven expertise in newer models (mobile, social, virtual). 

Conducted business in Europe, Japan, and US. Hold US and EC passports. 

The Agenda Digital 50: Board Candidates with Skills in New Technologies. 

CURRENT BOARD HIGHLIGHTS  

ULTA BEAUTY (NASDAQ: ULTA), Fortune 500 Omni Channel Retailer of All Things Beauty, All in One Place™  www.Ulta.com January 2012 to present 

Chair Compensation Committee (2014-2024), member Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees and former member Audit Committee. 

Lead negotiator for CEO contracts, facilitated BOD’s annual CEO review, and as a member of the Chairs special committee (Board, Audit, Comp & Nom Gov), led the successful succession, contracts, and compensation of CEO to Board Executive Chair and President to CEO. 

Go-to for digital and technology topics, for $18+bn market cap retailer. 

FERGUSON (NYSE: FERG and standard listing LSE: FERG), Leading value- add distributor in North America in solutions from infrastructure, plumbing and appliances to HVAC fire, fabrication and more.  Ferguson exists to make their customers’ complex projects simple, successful, and sustainable.  www.Ferguson.com January 2019 to present 

Nominations, Audit, & Remuneration Committee member.  Former Technology Committee member. 

Successful Board Chair and CEO succession of a $40bn market cap distributor 

Company relisting from premium LSE to standard LSE & NYSE listings 

Trian Partners had a 6% stake  

DRIVEN BRANDS (NASDAQ: DRVN), A portfolio of leading brands comprising the largest automotive services company in North America.  www.DrivenBrands.com  October 2020 to present 

Private Company when joined, Roark Capital Group Majority Investor 

Franchise and Company owned locations 

IPO January 14, 2021.  Controlled Company. 

Chair, Compensation Committee.  Nominating and Governance Committee member. 

JELD-WEN (NYSE: JELD), Designs, produces and distributes an extensive range of interior and exterior doors and windows, and related products.   www.Jeld-Wen.com  September 2022 to present 

Successful CEO succession 

Transformational Agenda 

Chair Compensation Committee, member Audit and Nominations & Governance Committees 

ANTICIMEX, Private, a leading Global modern pest control in prevention and treatment solutions. https://www.anticimex.se/om-oss/ 

Stockholm, Sweden HQ 

EQT Lead Investor 

PREVIOUS BOARD HIGHLIGHTS  

FLIR SYSTEMS Fortune 500 Industrial tech company of innovative sensing solutions www.flir.com May 2014 – May 2021 

Acquired by Teledyne (NYSE: TDY) on May 14, 2021. 

Chair, Compensation Committee, member 3 person CEO Search Committee (February - June 2017), Audit Committee (March 2014 to May 2021). 

WILTON BRANDS The leading portfolio of iconic crafting and baking brands that help families celebrate life’s many occasions www.Wilton.com May 2016 – September 2018 

Private company, Towerbrook Capital Partners Majority Investor 

Acquired by Dr. Oetker in September 2018. 

Chair, Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, Audit Committee, Compensation Committee. 

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS (detailed responsibilities and impact on LinkedIn) 

25-year operating experience in 3 phases 

1987 – 2000 Phase 1:   

Acquired know-how in ROI driven marketing with increasing scope and accountability in larger and more complex organizations.  

Operated more complex business models including single and multi-brand portfolios, multi-channel (physical stores, catalogs, and web businesses), a range of retail formats (specialty, department store and online only), and businesses in different stages of growth.  

Lands’ End, I Magnin, Gymboree, Williams-Sonoma & Blue Nile 

Impact story:  Developed and launched Williams-Sonoma’s web business, securing $10m funding and delivering net contribution margin neutral performance within 12 months. 

2001 – 2010 Phase 2:  

Scaled, global experience, in both strategic consulting and operating roles.   

Prophet, Walmart 

Impact stories: In a consulting role on assignment in London, UK, led teams to develop foundational global marketing capabilities at BP, a global energy company.  And, in a GM role, developed Walmart’s Site to Store (order online and pick up in store program) and rolled out to the 3,400-store chain.  Site to Store accounted for 1/3 of Walmart.com’s sales within 4 months of rolling out and was the first competitive strike to Amazon, leveraging the Walmart store fleet and offering free shipping if picked up at store. 

2011 – present Phase 3:  

Defining businesses and brands in light of rapid, scaled consumer adoption of all things digital.  

Walmart, PowerReviews, Chanel (advisor), Narvar (advisor), Ulta Beauty, Ferguson plc, Driven Brands, Jeld-Wen and Anticimex Board of Directors. 

Impact stories: As the Walmart.com CMO, proved a massive increase to funded growth was accretive to Comp Store sales, a key driver of market cap.  As the PowerReviews’ SVP Sales & Marketing, repositioned and rebranded, and secured key client installs, accelerating the growth of the SaaS software business that resulted in a highly successful exit, 17x revenue.  

As a Board Member, frame, and shape the Tech & Digital dialog. 

EDUCATION 

Thunderbird 

American Graduate School of International Management 

Master of International Management, Mandarin Chinese Language, 1992 

3.7 Grade Point Average, 30 hours completed towards 42 hours required. 

Northern Illinois University 

Bachelor of Science – Finance, May 1985 

National Dean’s List 1981, 1982 

INTERESTS 

Anything Outdoors and Travelling, Cooking, Leadership Styles and Organizational Behavior, Hapkido Purple Belt (with my daughters), Bikram Yoga, Skiing (still on 2 sticks) . . . and beginner Pickleball player. 

Cathy is a Chicagoan that has been living in San Francisco for 25 years.  She and her wife of 28 years, Zoon Nguyen, have 2 amazing daughters.