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Office Depot Inc. has hired its first female chief financial officer in the company's 19-year history.
Patricia McKay has served as CFO of home-furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware Inc. for nearly two years. She replaces Charles Brown, who was promoted to international president in April.
McKay, 47, also had been a board member for 16 months at Delray Beach-based Office Depot, but resigned to become executive vice president and CFO.
Before Restoration Hardware, she was an executive with Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation. McKay, a South Florida native, also has worked for Dole Food Co. and is a certified public accountant.
She declined interview requests Friday.
"Pat is fully up to speed on our company," Chief Executive Steve Odland said this week in a statement. "She is a seasoned financial executive and will be a great fit on our executive committee."
Monica Luechtefeld is executive vice president of business development and information technology for Office Depot.
The office-supply giant has several other women who serve as vice presidents and also sponsors one of the nation's preeminent conferences for female small business owners.
"The more enlightened organizations recognize if they have a diverse pool of leadership, it positively impacts the bottom line," said Rita Craig, a Palm Beach Gardens-based human resources consultant.
Restoration's chief executive, Gary Friedman, said in a statement that McKay played a key role during an important time for the Corte Madera, Calif.-based company (Nasdaq: RSTO, $7.14).
"She leaves us having built a strong finance organization at the same time that our brand repositioning has gained substantial momentum," he said in a statement.
McKay's last day at Restoration Hardware is Sept. 9. Office Depot (NYSE: ODP, $29.58), which employs about 2,000 people at its Delray Beach headquarters, has not announced when she will begin work here.
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