Women oversaw the earliest versions of this store. You'd never know it from today's list of upper management at Jo-Ann's:
Chairman and CEO: Darrell D. Webb (He earned a little less than $800,000 in 2012.)
President and CEO: Travis Smith
Executive Vice President and CFO: James C. Kerr
Executive Vice President of Operations and Human Resources: Tom Williams
Wait for it. Upper management has recently added a woman to its ranks: Riddianne Kline as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising.
This little group decides how to implement the will of its Board of Directors, a group of executives dominated by Jo-Ann's owner, Leonard Green and Partners, L.P.
One of Leonard Green's founders is Jonathan D. Sokoloff, famous--or infamous, depending on one's point of view--for his connection to Wall Street's Drexel Burnham Lambert and its convicted junk-bond trader Michael R. Milken. Sokoloff also sits on Jo-Ann's board of directors. Sokoloff's current company, Leonard Green and Partners, looked at the financial crash of the 1990s as opportunity. The New York Times quotes Sokoloff as saying, "What we learned at Drexel underpins our investment philosophy: Protect your downside and don't lose money." Or as Milkin was known to say, "[I]nvest in times of chaos and harvest in times of prosperity." What most Jo-Ann employees don't realize is that their company actually exists to put money into Leonard Green and Partners' accounts. Men like Sokoloff earn 20% of any profits made from Leonard Green funds' gains. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/treasure-hunters-of-the-financial-crisis.html?_r=0.
Corporate designs crafted by men like Sokoloff, and put into action by men like Darrell Webb, eventually trickle down to create the miserable work environment endured by many Jo-Ann employees. So while business writers may praise Jo-Ann's profitability, they either do not understand or do not care how the retailer's approach is based on squeezing people until they have no more to give.
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