User: Soldier For Life
Date posted: Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:00:58 GMT
This week, the Soldier for Life Spotlight shines on Tom Shull, the Director and CEO of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange).
Shull is a 1973 graduate of the West Point - The U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and commissioned in the U.S. Army as an Infantry officer. He received a Master of Business Administration with honors from Harvard University's Harvard Business School in 1981. His military schooling included... Ranger School and US Army Airborne School, Fort Benning. He had numerous line and staff assignments including serving as assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy and commander of a mechanized Infantry company.
Shull's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Presidential Service Badge, Expert Infantryman's Badge, Ranger Tab and Airborne Wings. In his last active-duty assignment, then-Major Shull was Military Assistant to Robert C. McFarlane, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Currently, Shull is the Director and CEO of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange), headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), celebrating its 121st year of supporting service members and their families. The Exchange is ranked No. 57 of the top 100 retail organizations in the U.S. with annual revenue of $8.5 billion, employing about 35,000 associates, including a small contingent of military.
In 2015, the Exchange generated $402 million in earnings, all of which were reinvested into the military community. The Exchange operates approximately 3,500 facilities, comprising department stores, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, theaters and other specialty retail businesses on military installations in all 50 states, five U.S. territories and 33 countries. The Exchange also operates a $3 billion receivables credit card portfolio. In order to support combat readiness and provide foreign-based patrons U.S. products, the Exchange operates water and bakery plants in Europe and Asia, under six licenses from U.S. consumer goods companies.
Shull also serves on the Exchange Board of Directors and on its Executive Committee alongside Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, Deputy of Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and Lt. Gen. Aundre Piggee, the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4.
Since joining the Exchange in 2012, Shull has led an $850 million operating profit improvement, increasing annual dividends by 6 percent as active-duty Army and Air Force personnel decreased 10.5 percent due to drawdowns. After the turnaround, the Exchange's operating profitability is on par with or exceeds that of Walmart and Target.
Prior to his selection as the Exchange's first civilian Director/CEO, Shull co-founded Meridian Ventures Inc. in 1991 and served as President and CEO from 1991-2012. He advised numerous clients, including Federated Department Stores, Mobil Corporation, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, Spiegel Brands and Fred Leighton, on improving revenues and profit. Throughout his career, Shull has successfully turned around four major commercial businesses other than the Exchange: Wise Foods, Inc., Hanover Direct, Inc., Barneys New York and Macy's.
Shull is past Chairman of the Deafness Research Foundation, the largest private charity for funding research in the causes and treatment of hearing loss. In addition, he is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. He is a member of the West Point Association of Graduates and serves as the Class of 1973 treasurer.
He was on the Board of Directors of Zale Corporation from 2004 to 2010, serving on Zale's Compensation Committee and as Chairman of the Audit Committee for three years. As Chair of the Audit Committee, Shull successfully resolved two SEC investigations and helped the company improve its governance and accounting practices by an early adoption of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Shull is a lifelong advocate for Veterans issues. While serving as a White House Fellow in the 1980s, he acted as an intermediary during the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, ensuring compromises were reached that resulted in the construction and dedication of the memorial.
Beginning in 2012, Shull spearheaded an effort to recognize the service of all honorably discharged Veterans with a lifelong online exchange benefit. After five years of coordination with the Department of Defense, Army and Air Force as well as several other federal agencies, the Exchange will launch the Veterans online shopping benefit this coming Veterans Day. The initiative will directly improve family and support programs for Soldiers, Airmen and their Families.
"AAFES is honored to offer this well-deserved benefit to those who raised their right hands, took the oath and served our Nation with honor," Shull said. "There are many generations of service members who have not been properly recognized for their sacrifices. The Veterans online shopping benefit acknowledges their service and welcomes them home."
Consistent with each exchange's dividend policy, increased earnings as a result of the shopping benefit is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars in increased annual dividends to Quality-of-Life programs for the military community including contingency operations, Army Child Development Centers, Youth Services and fitness centers, combat uniforms, overseas school lunches and more.
"AAFES, along with its sister exchanges, is ensuring America's Veterans are honored for their service and recognized as Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors for life," said Shull. "We look forward to welcoming our Veterans home this Veterans Day and every day thereafter."
Shull's favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip, and his favorite song is "Leaving on a Jet Plane" though his favorite musical artist is The Beach Boys. The pay grade for Shull's annual salary is $120,000 to $180,000, well below the common salary of $1.5 million before bonuses and stock options for retail CEOs at a company the size of the Exchange, but it does not matter to him.
"There is no greater honor than to serve those who serve. No dollar amount can equal the pride I feel going to work at the Exchange," Shull said.
(Information courtesy of Aafes, Los Angeles Times)
