Corporate Responsibility

Seattle -- REI named Alex Thompson as the company's new VP of communications and public affairs.  

Thompson most recently served as executive VP of corporate and public affairs in the New York office of Edelman, a global communications and marketing firm.

At REI, Thompson will direct a broad portfolio that includes public relations, reputation management, corporate communications, philanthropy, community affairs and government relations. In addition, he will be actively involved with the co-op's board of directors.

San Jose, Calif. – EBay Inc. has released its 2014 diversity report. The online auction retailer, whose global workforce is 58% male and global workforce is 61% white, says it has made improvements in workforce diversity but still has progress to make.

EBay’s global leadership is 72%, while its global technology wotkforce is 76% male. The non-tech workforce is much more gender-diverse, with a slight 51% male majority.

The Woodlands, Texas - Conn’s, Inc. has named William E. Saunders Jr. to its board of directors, Saunders will also become a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Saunders has served as CEO of Community Choice Financial since June 2008, after joining the company as its CFO in March 2006. In May 2014, he was appointed as chairman of the board.

E-commerce site Rakuten is expanding its corporate social responsibility efforts with several scholarship opportunities in Japan and around the world.

The cornerstone of its new efforts is its Global Citizens Summit, which will bring together 24 students from around the world at Boston’s Harvard Faculty Club from Aug. 2 to 9. The summit is being hosted with assistance from nonprofit Global Citizens Initiative, which works to build leaders among students, and the participants will meet throughout the week to discuss global issues.

Electronics company Vizio has kicked off a back-to-school contest for college students that will furnish a winner with electronics and $2,000 toward tuition and books.

The company is encouraging students to upload videos of themselves explaining a story of determination to Vizio’s website through Aug. 19.

New York - U.S. retail and consumer merger & acquisition (M&A) activity during second quarter 2014 was driven by eight multibillion dollar transactions, anchored by the food and beverage (including alcohol and retailing) sectors, exceeding year-over-year deal value by 104% and volume by 52%.

Jim Wade, who has 35 years of experience in retail, is the newest member of closeout retailer Tuesday Morning’s board of directors. Wade will be part of the board’s audit committee.

Secaucus, N.J. - The Children's Place Inc. has announced that Lou Lipschitz, a member of its board of directors and chair of the Audit Committee, has passed away. Lipschitz served on the board of directors since 2008, and was the chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance committees.

Prior to joining the Children’s Place board, Lipschitz served as the executive VP and CFO of Toys “R” Us Inc. from 1996 until his retirement in 2004.