Diane Sullivan is now CEO, president and chairman of the board of Brown Shoe Company. The company’s board of directors appointed Sullivan as chairman of the board last June, and her new role became effective yesterday, Feb. 2, 2014.

Sullivan was named president and chief executive officer in May 2011. Since that time she has been focused on aligning the company’s brands and businesses with both its mission and strategic financial goals. Over the past two years, Brown Shoe Company has made great strides in its portfolio realignment efforts at the infrastructure, retail and brand levels, which has led to a significant improvement in shareholder value.

Sullivan joined Brown Shoe Company in 2004 as president and assumed the additional role of chief operating officer in 2006. She was elected to Brown Shoe Company’s board of directors in 2007. Prior to Brown Shoe Company, she worked at The Stride Rite Corporation, where she served as president and chief operating officer of the corporation and as a member of the board of directors. From there, Sullivan went to Phillips-Van Heusen as vice chairman of Footwear before joining Brown Shoe Company. In addition to serving on several footwear industry boards, Sullivan is currently on the boards of BJC HealthCare and Enterprise Holdings, as well as the board of trustees at Washington University.

This April, Brown Shoe Company will celebrate its 100th Anniversary on the New York Stock Exchange.

Brown Shoe Company is a $2.6 billion, global footwear company. It operates over 1,200 Famous Footwear and Naturalizer retail stores. Its footwear brands include Via Spiga, Vince, Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, Carlos Santana,  and Fergie Footwear.