She was most recently president of North American Operations, where she had responsibility for Staples' business-to-business, online and retail operations across the United States and Canada. Previously, she was president, North American Commercial, responsible for Staples Advantage, which serves medium-sized to Fortune 1000 businesses, and Quill.com, which serves small- to medium-sized businesses. In addition, she was head of the company's supply chain and customer service operations in North America.

Goodman has served in a host of other leadership positions during her tenure at Staples, including EVP of Global Growth, EVP of Human Resources and EVP of Marketing. Staples announced Goodman's appointment as interim CEO (effective in June) in May of this year. She came to Staples from Bain and Company where she was a manager. Staples was one of her clients at Bain and she helped develop the strategy to launch Staples' catalog business, company officials say.

“I am committed to executing our Staples 20/20 strategy which is focused on accelerating growth with mid-market customers in North America and building on our momentum with products and services beyond office supplies,” Goodman says. “We have an incredible team of dedicated associates and I am proud to lead them as we transform our company and create long term shareholder value.”

Goodman is trying to right the ship at Staples after the company posted a 4% decline in sales in its fiscal second quarter ended July 30, and a net loss of $766 million or $1.18 per share. Second quarter results included pre-tax charges of $986 million primarily related to what the company termed as “the impairment of European goodwill and other assets and costs associated with the termination of the Office Depot merger agreement.”

A host of store closures are expected to be announced before year's-end. The company has closed 19 stores so far this year and has a goal of closing the doors on more than 50 in North America in 2016.

Staples, Inc.

FRAMINGHAM, MA—The Board of Directors of Staples, Inc. has named Shira Goodman president and CEO of the locally-based international office retailer.

Goodman took over as interim CEO this past June and replaced CEO Ron Sargent who resigned from the post after a federal judge's ruling backing objections raised by the Federal Trade Commission thwarted the $6.3-billion merger between Staples and Office Depot. Sargent, a 27-year Staples employee, resigned after the conclusion of Staples annual shareholder's meeting on June 14th.

Staples officials say Goodman was tabbed as the company's permanent CEO after a “comprehensive search process that included the evaluation of several qualified candidates.”

“This decision was not only based on her long tenure and deep understanding of our industry, but also on the leadership qualities she has demonstrated while serving as interim chief executive officer,” says Robert Sulentic, independent lead director of Staples. “Having joined Staples in 1992, Shira has a thorough understanding of our customers and operations which she combines with the outside-in thinking critical to competing in today's marketplace.”

She was most recently president of North American Operations, where she had responsibility for Staples' business-to-business, online and retail operations across the United States and Canada. Previously, she was president, North American Commercial, responsible for Staples Advantage, which serves medium-sized to Fortune 1000 businesses, and Quill.com, which serves small- to medium-sized businesses. In addition, she was head of the company's supply chain and customer service operations in North America.

Goodman has served in a host of other leadership positions during her tenure at Staples, including EVP of Global Growth, EVP of Human Resources and EVP of Marketing. Staples announced Goodman's appointment as interim CEO (effective in June) in May of this year. She came to Staples from Bain and Company where she was a manager. Staples was one of her clients at Bain and she helped develop the strategy to launch Staples' catalog business, company officials say.

“I am committed to executing our Staples 20/20 strategy which is focused on accelerating growth with mid-market customers in North America and building on our momentum with products and services beyond office supplies,” Goodman says. “We have an incredible team of dedicated associates and I am proud to lead them as we transform our company and create long term shareholder value.”

Goodman is trying to right the ship at Staples after the company posted a 4% decline in sales in its fiscal second quarter ended July 30, and a net loss of $766 million or $1.18 per share. Second quarter results included pre-tax charges of $986 million primarily related to what the company termed as “the impairment of European goodwill and other assets and costs associated with the termination of the Office Depot merger agreement.”

A host of store closures are expected to be announced before year's-end. The company has closed 19 stores so far this year and has a goal of closing the doors on more than 50 in North America in 2016.