Kathleen Mazzarella

Kathleen (Kathy) Mazzarella has been the Chief Executive and President of Graybar Electric Co. since June 1, 2012. In addition, she has been the Chairman of Graybar Electric Co. since January 1, 2013.^[1] She is the only female CEO of a Fortune 500 company based in the St. Louis region.^[2][3] As of June 2016, she is one of only 21 women CEOs of the Fortune 500.^[4]

Career

Mazzarella started with Graybar at the age of 19^[5] as a customer service representative in 1980. She led the company’s human resources and sales and marketing efforts for many years until being promoted to her current position. With her appointment as CEO and President, Mazzarella started to oversee the operations of the company with 250 distribution facilities in North America and 7600 employees.^[2]

Past CEO Robert Reynolds Jr. said, about Mazzarella’s appointment, "Appointing her to this position reinforces Graybar's philosophy of managing the company for the long-term."^[2]

Education

Mazzarella has an associate degree in telecommunications engineering. She has a BA in applied behavioral sciences and a Master's in business from Webster University which she earned in 2002.^[6][7][8]

Board memberships

In January 2015, Mazzarella joined the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis^[9][10] as a Class C Director and became Deputy Chair in January 2016 ^[11][12] and Chair in April 2016. ^[13][14] She was elected to the Waste Management Board of Directors effective on October 1, 2015.^[15] In July 2016, she became an active member of The Business Council ^[16] and a member of the Board of Trustees of Westminster College.^[17] In addition, she also serves on the boards of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), Civic Progress, United Way of Greater St. Louis, the Saint Louis Club and the NAW Institute^[8]

References