Between January 2002 and November 2013, Stephen I. Sadove held positions of increasing responsibility with Saks Incorporated. In January 2002, Sadove joined the management team of Saks as Vice Chairman. In March 2004, he assumed the additional post of Chief Operating Officer of the Company and in January 2006 he assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer. He held the post of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saks between May 2007 and November 2013. In November 2013, Saks Incorporated was sold to Hudson’s Bay Company for a price of $16 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.9 billion.
Prior to joining Saks, Sadove built a distinguished marketing and consumer products career spanning over 25 years. Between 1975 and 1991, Sadove held various positions of increasing responsibility with General Foods USA, including Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Desserts Division.
Sadove joined Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in 1991 as President of Clairol. In 1994, he was appointed President, Worldwide Clairol, having direct responsibility for the Clairol business in the United States as well as all of the consumer businesses in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. In 1996, he was appointed to the post of President, Bristol-Myers Squibb Worldwide Beauty Care, with responsibility for Clairol Worldwide and Matrix Essentials. In 1997, he was appointed President, Bristol-Myers Squibb Worldwide Beauty Care and Nutritionals, adding Mead Johnson Nutritionals to his duties.
During his tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sadove led Clairol to become the number one hair care business in the United States, relaunched the Herbal Essences brand into a $700 million business, and completed the sale of the beauty care business to Procter & Gamble for approximately $5 billion.
Sadove is a graduate of Hamilton College and holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is also a recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science Degree from LIM College. He currently serves on numerous community and civic boards including Hamilton College as Chairman of the Board and the National Retail Federation as Chairman of the Board as well as the public company boards of Colgate-Palmolive, JCPenney, Aramark and Ruby Tuesday.
