Steve Odland facts for kids

Steve Odland is a well-known American businessman. He leads a big organization called The Conference Board as its president and CEO. Before that, he was in charge of companies like Office Depot, Inc. and AutoZone, Inc.. He also led Tops Markets and the Committee for Economic Development.

Early Life and Education

Steve Odland grew up in Colorado. He went to Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado. After high school, he studied business at the University of Notre Dame. Later, he earned a master's degree in management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Steve Odland's Career Journey

Steve Odland has had a long and successful career leading many different organizations.

Leading The Conference Board

Since 2018, Steve Odland has been the president and CEO of The Conference Board. This group helps businesses and does research. It has over 1,000 member companies from 60 countries around the world.

The Conference Board focuses on several key areas:

• The economy and how businesses make money.
• Public policy, which means how laws and rules affect businesses.
• Marketing and how companies talk to their customers.
• Human capital, which is about people and their skills in the workplace.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics, which cover how companies impact the world.

The organization also shares important information like how confident people feel about the economy. Steve Odland hosts a weekly podcast called C-Suite Perspectives. On this podcast, he talks with other business leaders about important topics for companies.

Work at Committee for Economic Development

From 2013 to 2018, Steve Odland was the president and CEO of the Committee for Economic Development (CED). This group is led by business people and works to find solutions for big issues. It does not favor any political party.

In 2017, Steve Odland wrote a book with Joseph Minarik. The book is called Sustaining Capitalism: Bipartisan Solutions to Restore Trust & Prosperity. It shares ideas on how businesses and leaders can help everyone succeed. The book also talks about making sure our economic system works well for future generations. Many well-known publications like Fortune and Bloomberg wrote about the book.

Early Career Steps

Steve Odland started his career at the Quaker Oats Company in 1981. He worked there for many years in different parts of the company. These included pet foods, cereals, and international foods.

From 1996 to 1998, he was the president of the Foodservice Division at Sara Lee Bakery. After that, he became the president and CEO of Tops Markets until 2000.

Leading AutoZone

From 2001 to 2005, Steve Odland was the president, chairman, and CEO of AutoZone. This company sells car parts. When he left, AutoZone had many stores and employees across the U.S. and Mexico. He helped set up rules for how the company was run. He also started a program called the "40-headed CEO." In this program, the top 40 leaders met every month to review how the company was doing.

In 2002, Bloomberg Markets Magazine named him the top new CEO.

Time at Office Depot

From 2005 to 2010, Steve Odland was the chairman and CEO of Office Depot. During his time there, he started many projects to help the environment. These included selling green products and making buildings more energy-efficient.

He also worked to make sure there was diversity in the company, meaning people from different backgrounds were included. Because of this, Office Depot received several awards. For example, The National Association for Female Executives named Office Depot one of the best companies for women leaders. The company also helped businesses owned by women and other diverse groups.

After the big earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the Office Depot Foundation gave money to help organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Feed The Children.

In 2007, Florida Atlantic University named him their Business Leader of the Year.

Teaching and Other Roles

From 2011 to 2012, Steve Odland taught at Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University. He taught in their graduate business schools.

In 2024, Steve Odland received the Foreign Policy Association Medal. This award was given for The Conference Board's work in helping people learn more about international affairs. It is a very high honor from the Foreign Policy Association.

Steve Odland is also featured in books like Nobodies to Somebodies: How 100 Great Careers Got Their Start.

Today, he is a director at General Mills, Inc.. He is also a trustee for The Conference Board and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He often shares his thoughts on business and the economy as a guest on CBS News and was a contributor to CNBC and Forbes.