Connie K. Duckworth Named To Steelcase Inc. Board
Steelcase today announced the appointment of Connie K. Duckworth to its board of directors. Ms. Duckworth founded ARZU, Inc. in 2003 and serves pro bono as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The appointment took place on March 29, 2010.
Grand Rapids, MI – March 31, 2010 – Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS), the global leader in the office furniture industry, today announced the appointment of Connie K. Duckworth to its board of directors. Ms. Duckworth founded ARZU, Inc. in 2003 and serves pro bono as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The appointment took place on March 29, 2010.
ARZU, which means “hope” in Dari, is an innovative model of social entrepreneurship that helps Afghan women weavers and their families break the cycle of poverty by providing them steady income and access to education and healthcare by sourcing and selling the rugs they weave. While structured as a 501(c)(3) in the United States and an international NGO in Afghanistan, ARZU operates as a “for-benefit” corporation, using private sector practices to create jobs in desperately poor rural villages where little opportunity exists.
Rob Pew, Steelcase Inc. Chair of the Board, said of the appointment, “Connie’s entrepreneurial experience in founding and leading AZRU will be a considerable asset to Steelcase. Her strong background on a variety of corporate and philanthropic boards will enrich the Steelcase board’s effectiveness and we look forward to adding her to our mix of independent thinkers and dedicated leaders striving to increase shareholder value.”
Ms. Duckworth is a retired Partner and Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs, & Co., where she was named the first woman sales and trading partner in the firm’s history during her 20 year career. Ms. Duckworth is a Trustee of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Director of Smurfit Stone Container Corporation; and Russell Investment Group. She serves on the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School; the Board of Directors of Global Heritage Fund in Palo Alto; the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago; and on the Advisory Board of the Duke Islamic Studies Center in Durham, North Carolina. Ms. Duckworth is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of NorthShore University HealthSystem, in Evanston, Illinois, the first woman to have held this position. She is a past Chair of the Committee of 200, the organization of leading women entrepreneurs and corporate business executives in the U.S. She is the author of The Old Girls Network: Insider Advice for Women Building Businesses in a Man’s World (Basic Books 2003), a primer on how to start a business.
The recipient of numerous awards, Ms. Duckworth was named a 2008 Skoll Foundation honoree for Social Entrepreneurship. She holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from the University of Texas.
About Steelcase Inc.
Steelcase Inc. helps create great experiences – wherever work happens. Our brands offer a comprehensive portfolio of workplace furnishings, products and services, inspired by nearly 100 years of insight gained serving the world’s leading organizations. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 650 dealers. We design for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Steelcase is a global, publicly traded company leading our industry with fiscal 2010 revenue of $2.3 billion.
Media Contact:
Jeanine Holquist
616.698.3765
jholquis@steelcase.com