Phyllis Sewell Proved an Accidental Role Model for Female Executives
January 06 2017 - 10:29AM
Dow Jones News
By James R. Hagerty
After graduating from college, Phyllis Shapiro wasn't expecting
a long career. She needed something to keep her busy until she got
married and started a family.
A notice in her hometown paper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, caught
her eye: "Wanted: young college graduate, no typing or shorthand
required." She got the job: research analyst at Federated
Department Stores Inc., now known as Macy's Inc.
After she married and had a child, the company proved
surprisingly flexible, allowing her to work three-day weeks for a
spell. Under her married name, Phyllis Sewell, she rose to senior
vice president, responsible for research and planning, and served
on the boards of several other big companies, including Sysco
Corp., Lee Enterprises Inc., Pitney Bowes Inc. and U.S. Shoe
Corp.
She never thought of herself as a role model or feminist, said
her son, Charles Sewell. Still, she became a mentor for other women
in business, including Karen Hoguet, now Macy's chief financial
officer.
Mrs. Sewell died of congestive heart failure Dec. 26, her 86th
birthday, in New York.
Her role at Federated was to figure out such things as what
customers craved and which promotions and ads worked best. She also
oversaw the creation of customer databases. "She was usually the
smartest person in the room," said James Zimmerman, a former chief
executive of Federated. "She didn't say a lot, but when she did say
something you knew it was time to shut up and listen."
Phyllis Gay Shapiro was born Dec. 26, 1930, in Cincinnati. Her
father was a pharmacist, and her mother kept the books at his
pharmacy. Phyllis Shapiro graduated from Wellesley College with an
economics degree in 1952.
"I did not expect to have a career," she told the Cincinnati
Enquirer in 2004. "In the early '50s, women were expected to get
married and have a family. Very few, even at Wellesley, thought
about working."
Finding a husband took longer than she expected, but she met
Martin Sewell at a bridge party. He worked as a photographer and
darkroom technician and later as a stockbroker and investment
counselor. They married in 1959.
Her career flourished despite a few snubs. She wasn't invited to
join an executive lunch group at the company when a man of the same
rank was. When she protested, a human-resources executive explained
that life wasn't fair.
"She took me under her wing," said Ms. Hoguet, who was hired by
Mrs. Sewell. Among other things, Ms. Hoguet said, Mrs. Sewell gave
helpful advice about juggling work, family and community life.
John Landsman, who worked in her research department in the
1980s, said she asked penetrating questions. When he came back from
a meeting with one of the operating companies after making a
presentation, he felt pleased with his effort. She asked what the
operating company would do differently based on his presentation.
The lesson, he said, was that it didn't matter how brilliant a
report was if no one acted on it.
After retiring in 1988, she continued to serve on corporate
boards and did volunteer work for organizations including the
United Way, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Jewish
Federation.
Her husband, Martin, died in 1997. She is survived by a sister,
her son and two grandchildren.
Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 06, 2017 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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