Newell Rubbermaid Appoints Meredith Stevens as Chief Supply Chain Officer

Tyco and former General Electric executive joins S&P 500 company in newly created role to direct and grow company’s global supply chain

AtlantaNov. 9, 2012Newell Rubbermaid, a global marketer of consumer and commercial products, appointed Meredith “Meri” Stevens as Chief Supply Chain Officer. Stevens will join the company in January in the newly created position to lead all aspects of the company’s global supply chain. This will include driving a consistent approach to the company’s global operations; unlocking the trapped capacity for growth through improved productivity and working capital management; and building the network to support emerging market expansion.

“Meri brings world-class supply chain capabilities to Newell Rubbermaid and will play a critical role in driving our Growth Game Plan into action,” said Michael Polk, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newell Rubbermaid.

Stevens will report to Bill Burke, Chief Operating Officer for Newell Rubbermaid, and will become a member of Polk’s Executive Leadership Team.

“Building a market-leading supply chain is one of our most important opportunities as a company,” said Burke. “Meri is a mechanical and electrical engineer, Lean Six Sigma expert and a respected people leader who has a proven record of designing and transforming supply chain systems to deliver step-change improvements in operating performance. She has the perfect combination of skills and experience to scale our supply chain capabilities to world-class levels.”

Most recently, Stevens was head of the Global Fire & Security Install and Service Supply Chain at Tyco, where she built global procurement teams, drove manufacturing excellence and led the transformation of the company’s logistics and distribution network. Before Tyco, Stevens led Strategic Sourcing for media conglomerate Bertelsmann Inc., where she designed and implemented a new strategic sourcing operation. She also held past leadership positions with General Electric.

Stevens holds an M.S. in Industrial Management and a B.S. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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